The NFL Top 100 dropped Lamar Jackson at No. 69, and every football fan with functioning eyes should be furious about it.
This is a two-time MVP. This is the guy who ranked No. 2 on last year’s list. Somehow, in 12 months, he tumbled 67 spots. That is not a slight, that is character assassination in list form.
Yes, injuries limited him to 13 games in 2025. Yes, his 2,549 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions represent a step back from his best seasons. Nobody is arguing Lamar had a career year. But 68 players in the entire league were better than him? Name them. I dare you.
The list is voted on by players, which is supposed to give it credibility. Instead, the vote reveals the same recency bias that turns every offseason ranking into a mess. If a guy misses a few games, he plummets. If a rookie has one hot playoff run, he leaps twenty spots. Consistency of greatness gets no respect.
Fans on X reacted the way fans always react. They started counting. Grizz posted, “Y’all outta y’all minds with this one it is not 69 players better then Lamar Jackson.” Pete Martuneac dared anyone to name 68 players ahead of him. Nobody could.
Try it yourself. Start with the quarterbacks. Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence. That is seven. Are you really telling me 61 defensive linemen, wide receivers, running backs and offensive linemen are more valuable than the guy who has won two MVPs?
The truth is uglier than the ranking itself. Voters punished Lamar for one down season the same way they overrated him after his best ones. That is not analysis. That is mood.
The Ravens open training camp with a chip on their shoulder now. Lamar Jackson has always played best when doubted. In 2019 he ran through the league at 22 and won MVP. In 2023 he came back from a down year and won another one. Doubt him at your own risk.
Baltimore also has real questions to answer. The offensive line needs to hold up better. The defense has to rediscover its bite. Derrick Henry, still on the roster at 32, needs to age like Frank Gore. The Ravens are not a finished product.
But the quarterback? He is the same guy who has finished in the top five of MVP voting more often than not. He is the same guy defenses spend all week planning for and still cannot contain. He is not the 69th best player in football. He is not the 30th best player in football.
If Lamar plays 17 games in 2026 and throws for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns, this list will rocket him back near the top and everyone will pretend they never had him at 69. That is how the NFL Top 100 works. It is a snapshot of vibes, not talent.
The real Lamar Jackson is going to answer this ranking on the field. The Ravens open camp next week, and if history is any guide, we are about to watch a very angry two-time MVP go absolutely nuclear.
Book it. Lamar will be top 10 by this time next year, and the voters who put him at 69 will suddenly forget they ever did it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
