Shannon Sharpe gave his perspective on the expectations surrounding Lamar Jackson. He said that the quarterback’s legacy will ultimately hinge on postseason success.
Sharpe appeared on Friday’s episode of “Nightcap” podcast with Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson, where the duo breaks down daily sports headlines. Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens’ franchise quarterback, is a two-time NFL MVP.
Their discussion came during the Friday episode of the show, sparked by a ranking published by Bleacher Report labeling Jackson the league’s “most overrated” quarterback. Writer Alex Kay released the evaluation a day earlier, drawing immediate backlash.
Speaking directly to the criticism, Sharpe highlighted how Jackson’s resume stacks up against other elite quarterbacks.
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“You see the names that are on this list that have won multiple MVPs … Lamar is the only one who hasn’t been to a Super Bowl. You can’t just look, ‘Well, he won two MVPs.’ You gotta look at the company that he’s in. His career will be looked at as a disappointment if he doesn’t get to a Super Bowl, considering what he had accomplished,” Sharpe said.
Unc and Ocho weigh in after Bleacher Report names Lamar Jackson the NFL’s most overrated QB @ShannonSharpe @ochocinco #Nightcap
Lamar Jackson returned to the practice field Thursday after sitting out Wednesday due to knee soreness, according to the team’s website. Baltimore faces Cleveland on Sunday in a divisional matchup that carries AFC implications.
Sharpe co-host pushed back against Lamar Jackson’s
“Overrated” tag
Sharpe said that he wasn’t closing the book on Lamar Jackson’s career, instead focusing on how quarterbacks are evaluated historically when their playing days are behind them.
Sharpe pointed out that Jackson is the lone member of the group of multiple MVP winners in the Super Bowl era without an appearance in the championship game. The rest, Johnny Unitas, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Joe Montana, Young, Kurt Warner and Patrick Mahomes, have all reached the sport’s final stage.
“He has to get to at least one [Super Bowl] … He gets to one and he wins it, we look at him totally different,” Sharpe said.
Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson pushed back on the notion that Jackson is overrated, calling the label misplaced. He said the judgment is premature, citing the wave of elite quarterbacks in the AFC that makes reaching the Super Bowl challenging.
Both hosts called out the flawed reasoning in linking MVP awards to playoff success. They noted that the voting occurs before the postseason begins. Championship results have never been part of the award’s criteria.