Lamar Jackson's MVP Case Already Has A Strong Foundation

In the two seasons since Lamar Jackson won the MVP, a lot has happened with the Baltimore Ravens. They’ve seen a slight decline, had an injury-ravaged 2021, and saw the baby brother of the division make the Super Bowl. 

Yet, they are primed for a bounce back season in 2022. Every unit is expected to be healthy, and that means that Lamar Jackson should be ready to lead Baltimore into a comeback season. 

Jackson is currently +1800 to win MVP at WynnBET. That puts him in a tie with Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford for the sixth-best odds to win the award. 

While it’s been a while since we’ve seen sustained excellence from Jackson, he was one of the top contenders to win the award last season before Baltimore’s injuries became too much to overcome.

Through eight games, Jackson had the Ravens at 6-2. Towards the second half of the season, interceptions picked up and the losses started to pile on. 

However, Jackson was still as dynamic a runner as he's ever been. With the offensive line expected to be back, some of the pressure of creating big plays will be taken off of Jackson and onto the running backs who are expected to make their return.

Jackson is going to have a tough road to win MVP – any quarterback in the AFC is. Yet we’ve already seen him do it and if the team around him doesn’t fall apart, Jackson’s athleticism will shine through like in 2019.

Our own Peter Dewey picked Jackson to win MVP earlier this month. Here's what he had to say.

"Lamar was banged up in the 2021 season, and he didn’t have any of his top three running backs, his star left tackle Ronnie Stanley, and first-round receiver Rashod Bateman missed a ton of time at the start of the season. 

"There may not be a more dynamic dual threat in NFL history than Jackson, and he’s shown he can win the MVP before. He’s going to need to improve as a passer from the 2021 season, but Lamar was in serious consideration when the Ravens started 6-2, but injuries really were the story of his season. 

"A healthy Jackson  should lead this team to the top half of the AFC, so I’ll predict a bounce back year ended with an MVP."

If Jackson is as dynamic as Dewey and I expect, this might be a runaway award season for Jackson.