A Return to Dominance for Lamar Jackson
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For almost all of his career, Lamar Jackson has been one of, if not the best, fantasy quarterbacks in the NFL. His dynamic running ability has struck fear in defenses for years, allowing him to have his way with them. But coming off the worst season of his career, Jackson will be looking to prove 2025 was a fluke. I, for one, believe he will.
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Bursting onto the Scene
Many may remember the discourse around Lamar Jackson entering the NFL. A lot of NFL pundits didn’t think he could play quarterback in the NFL, and Jackson was even questioned about whether he would change positions. Jackson was steadfast in his desire to play quarterback. The Ravens ended up drafting Jackson 32nd overall in a stacked quarterback class to back up an aging Joe Flacco.
Lamar Jackson would get the occasional designed play during his rookie season, but then Joe Flacco suffered a hip injury in Week 9, and Jackson took over as starter. Jackson never looked back. Jackson’s passing still left a lot to be desired at that time; however, he put his dynamic rushing ability on full display. Jackson averaged 79 rushing yards per game in his seven starts while leading the Ravens to a 6-1 record.
In his second season, Lamar Jackson established himself as an elite fantasy quarterback. Jackson led the NFL in touchdown passes while running for over 1,200 yards on his way to scoring 27.7 Fantasy PPG. He wasn’t able to quite duplicate his sophomore season, but from 2019 to 2024, Jackson never scored less than 19.7 Fantasy PPG. Jackson continued to be one of the best rushing quarterbacks we’ve ever seen, while becoming a more complete passer, and earned two MVP awards.
| Year | Passing Yards | Passing TDs | Rushing Yards | Rushing TDs | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1201 | 6 | 695 | 5 | 9.8 |
| 2019 | 3127 | 36 | 1206 | 7 | 27.7 |
| 2020 | 2757 | 26 | 1005 | 7 | 22.2 |
| 2021 | 2882 | 16 | 767 | 2 | 20.0 |
| 2022 | 2242 | 17 | 764 | 3 | 19.7 |
| 2023 | 3678 | 24 | 821 | 5 | 20.7 |
| 2024 | 4172 | 41 | 915 | 4 | 25.3 |
| 2025 | 2549 | 21 | 349 | 2 | 16.5 |
A Season To Forget
Lamar Jackson’s 2025 season started superbly. In his first three games, Jackson scored at least 26.3 fantasy points in every game. It looked as though we were about to get another MVP season from Jackson, and potentially duplicate his incredible sophomore season. Unfortunately, in Week 4, Jackson suffered a hamstring injury that would keep him out for the next three games and have lingering effects on his season.
In his first game back from injury, it looked like Lamar Jackson was back to normal, beating up on a bad Miami defense for 25.6 fantasy points. That turned out to be a mirage, though. Jackson scored over 20 fantasy points only twice more the rest of the season, and had four outings in which he scored under 10. His post-injury fantasy PPG was a lowly 11.8, bringing down his season average to 17.1.
Lamar Jackson’s hamstring injury did more damage than we could have projected. Not only did it weaken his rushing ability, bringing him down to only 20.3 rushing yards per game after returning from injury, but it hampered his passing ability as well. Without the ability to threaten defenses with his legs as much as before, defenses were able to hold down Jackson and the Ravens’ offense more. If you rostered Jackson in 2025, there’s a good chance you watched your championship hopes crumble with each passing poor performance from Jackson.
A Bounce Back on the Horizon
It’s important not to be snake-bitten by players. Each season is a new one. We should learn from everything that transpired the season before, but we must consider all the information we have. We have years of data of Lamar Jackson being one of the best quarterbacks in fantasy football. One season in which he was hampered by injury doesn’t change that. By all accounts, Jackson is fully healthy and ready for the 2026 season.
This season also brings some change around Lamar Jackson that could be for the best. John Harbaugh was let go from his coaching duties, and Jesse Minter was brought in, who then hired Declan Doyle to be his offensive coordinator. Prior to the Ravens, Doyle spent time with two of the best offensive coaches in the NFL. In 2025, he was Ben Johnson’s offensive coordinator in Chicago. From 2023 to 2024, he worked under Sean Payton in Denver as the Tight Ends Coach. Doyle’s experience with Johnson and Payton should help Jackson have another great season.
Lamar Jackson got some more help this offseason as well. Isaiah Likely left in free agency, but the Ravens spent their third and fourth round picks drafting Ja’Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt. Each has their own set of skills that will allow them to help Jackson and the Ravens’ offense. Lane is a big outside threat who is excellent at high-pointing the ball, which will be beneficial in the red zone. Sarratt is a consistent chain mover who can be a reliable target for Jackson when he’s in need.
QB fantasy points per game and EPA per dropback over the last two years suggests the ADP gap between Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen is probably too wide. pic.twitter.com/uUCWAb3lfw
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) July 13, 2026
Bottom Line
- Throughout his career, Lamar Jackson has been one of the best fantasy quarterbacks, year in and year out. Since becoming the Ravens starter, for his career, he’s averaged 21.8 Fantasy PPG.
- Jackson’s 2025 season disappointed everyone rostering him. If you were one of those people, there’s a good chance it ruined your season. This is an occasion where a short memory is needed.
- As the QB2 in fantasy drafts according to 4for4 Multisite ADP, there is no discount for him against other quarterbacks. However, he’s two rounds cheaper than Josh Allen. That difference doesn’t accurately reflect Jackson’s chances of finishing as the QB1 in fantasy, as he’s done multiple times before.
