Lamar Jackson 'Can Dice You Up,' Rival NFL Coach Says to Hype 'Impressive' Improvement by Ravens QB

Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson lost some ground in the annual positional rankings from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler but received high praise for his 2025 performance.

Jackson fell one spot to No. 5.

1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
2. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
3. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
4. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
5. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
6. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
7. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
8. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
9. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
10. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

Still, one defensive coach sees continued growth on the field from the three-time All-Pro.

"What's so impressive is he has gotten better as a passer," they told Fowler. "He's more of a complete passer. It's impressive. I really didn't respect the passing game as much before in his career, but the last time we played him, he was much better. He can dice you up."

The coach's remark is surprising if only because Jackson regressed a bit as a passer in 2025. He threw for 2,549 yards and 21 touchdowns along with seven interceptions in 13 starts. Having led the league in QBR (74.8) in 2024, he slipped to ninth, per ESPN.com.

Former offensive coordinator Todd Monken took some of the blame when he said in January he "didn't coach Lamar well enough."

"I didn't have as good of a relationship as I could have," he said. "I didn't do the things we needed to do this year to win enough games to give ourselves a chance. I believe that."

Jackson made significant improvements as a pure passer after Monken came aboard in 2023, but the partnership may have run its course. Now, it's Declan Doyle's job to bring the best out of the two-time MVP again.

Absent signing an extension between now and Week 1, how Jackson performs will also have major contract implications. He's eligible for free agency in 2028, and the Ravens will presumably want to get him re-signed before then.

The 29-year-old should have little trouble getting a raise on his current average salary of $52 million. What's unclear for now is whether he can surpass Patrick Mahomes ($63.1 million) as the highest-paid quarterback and by how much.

Another MVP-caliber season could plausibly put him in the $65-70 million range.