Lamar Jackson brags no one has ever caught him in a game of tag

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson spoke on how his tag skills translated to football — and how he’s undefeated at the game. 

If Lamar Jackson has proved anything in the NFL, it’s that the 2019 NFL MVP is not easy to catch.

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Although Jackson dismisses the notion that he is just another running back, Jackson takes pride in his superior ability to run the ball. When asked about his play-making ability, demonstrated in traits that cannot be coached, Jackson had an intriguing answer for how he developed his elusive agility.

“I think my [skill] comes from playing tag, not wanting to get touched,” Jackson said. “It just transitioned over to football.”

When asked if he was ever caught during a game of tag, Jackson answered with an emphatic, “Not [by] one person No. No. No.”

Lamar Jackson is an undefeated champion of tag

Jackson isn’t the only NFL player who developed playful childhood agility into impressive NFL characteristics.

Before the 2021 NFL Draft, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver D’Wayne Eskridge spoke with Go Long’s Tyler Dunne about how clocking a 4.2 40-yard dash spurred from a defining moment in childhood.

Eskridge discovered his elite speed when he was nine years old and saw a rabbit in his neighbor’s yard.

“One day, we were just walking and I saw a rabbit,” Eskridge said. “It didn’t really run away from us instantly. So, I just snuck up on him a little bit and moved kind of slowly. And then the rabbit ran straight so as soon as I saw that, I ran and literally picked the rabbit up. Like I cornered it and caught the rabbit.”

Similarly, it seems that Jackson honed his ability to twist out of sacks and make plays in a crumbling pocket from those youthful moments spent playing tag.

Although Jackson might be an undefeated tag champion, he revealed in 2019 that he “hates running” on the football field, preferring passing touchdowns to running touchdowns.

“I hate running, only if I have to,” Jackson said. “But you know, my job is to get the ball to the receivers, tight ends, running backs. If I have to run I’ll do it, but I rather just sit back and pass it.”

Even if he hates running, those days spent playing tag have helped him become one of the NFL’s most dynamic quarterbacks.

While tag might be considered a “children’s game”, the stamina, elusiveness and speed needed to be a champion at the game is something that NFL players like Jackson still use well into adulthood.