Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens will take on the Tennessee Titans on Saturday (January 11) in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. In his second year, the Ravens' quarterback is the presumptive MVP and is making fools of all those who doubted him during the 2018 NFL Draft. 

In a piece for the Nashville Tennessean, Gentry Estes, who covered Jackson for the Louisville Courier-Journal, wrote about the inability of the NFL scouting process to quantify a player like Jackson. 

Estes didn’t directly or indirectly make reference to racial bias, but we know that’s what a large part of the doubts about Jackson were rooted in. 

Related: ‘We Have Others Coming In, Next Generation’: Lamar Jackson Is Proud Of Black Quarterbacks Excelling

The NFL, its scouts, and decision makers use terms like “prototypical quarterback,” “pocket passer,” “pro style offense” and “ability to read coverages” when talking about the most important position on the field. 

A franchise quarterback must “look the part.” 

What that has always meant is a 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-5 White player who stands in the pocket and slings the football. 

On the high-end think Tom Brady and Peyton Manning (surefire Hall of Famers). On the other end think Matt Stafford and Matt Ryan. 

This is the paradigm and lens that NFL decision makers use when evaluating quarterbacks. 

Enter Lamar Jackson, who looks nothing like any of the aforementioned players and doesn’t play like them either. 

Jackson is a “dual-threat” quarterback, another code word used that generally means Black. He can sling it but can make a play out of nothing. When things break down, he can keep the chains moving. Of course, there is his running ability, which is second to none. 

He is redefining what that means and showing that you can win with all types of quarterbacks if you’re willing to emphasize what they do best and put them in positions to succeed. 

“This notion that a quarterback good enough to win the Heisman Trophy at Louisville might be better off playing wide receiver always was misguided at best and insulting at worst,” writes Estes.

Jackson was a successful quarterback in college, yet four other quarterbacks were drafted ahead of him and none of them were asked about playing a different position. 

The questions about Jackson’s accuracy and decision making were not also asked about Josh Allen (drafted at #7), who had a worse completion percentage than Jackson and who never won a Heisman. 

Jackson’s current exploits are challenging the status quo and the teams that passed on him because they couldn’t see what was right in front of them.

“I think we just took it in total – the skill-set, the personality, the football acumen, what we pictured that we could build with him – all those things,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said this week.