The 2026 NFL’s Top 100 List Exposed Its Own Flaws with the Ravens Two-Time MVP-Winning QB Ranking
Lamar Jackson’s 69th ranking on the NFL’s 2026 Top 100 list is one of the most absurd placements the league has produced in years. It is hard to square that number with the body of work Jackson has already built, especially for a player whose career resume already includes two MVP awards, historic production, and a place among the most dynamic quarterbacks the sport has ever seen. At this point, the only major box Jackson has not checked is a Super Bowl championship, and even that missing piece does not change the fact that he already has a Hall of Fame-worthy career. A 67-spot drop from the second spot to 69th does not feel like a fair assessment of his value; it feels like a disconnect from reality.
What makes the ranking even more puzzling is how consistently Jackson has delivered when healthy. He is not just a highlight-reel quarterback or a player who generates buzz because of his speed; he has been one of the most productive and difficult offensive players to game-plan for in the NFL. When Jackson is at his best, he changes the geometry of the field, forces defenses into panic mode, and creates stress on every snap in a way few quarterbacks can match. That kind of impact is exactly why he belongs in the conversation as one of the top five players in the league when he is healthy. It is also why placing him at 69th feels less like evaluation and more like a vote driven by something other than football.
The reaction around the NFL world made it clear that plenty of people saw the ranking as a joke. Fans, analysts, former players, and media voices all quickly pointed out how ridiculous it is to list a two-time MVP outside the top tier of players in the league. That kind of pushback was inevitable because Jackson’s reputation has long been built on production, not hype alone. Even people who are not Ravens fans understand that a quarterback with Jackson’s accomplishments should never be sitting anywhere near the middle of a rankings list. The backlash was not about homerism; it was about basic football logic.
The biggest issue with the NFL Top 100 list is that its voting process leaves too much room for inconsistency. Due to the list being voted on by players, it is vulnerable to personal biases, reputation voting, recency bias, and simple popularity contests. That does not mean the list is meaningless, but it does mean it should never be treated as an objective measuring stick of who the best players actually are. When a ranking produces something as hard to defend as Lamar Jackson at 69th, it exposes the flaw in the system more than it says anything meaningful about the player. In this case, the blemish is not on Jackson’s resume; it is on the credibility of the ranking itself.
It also matters that Jackson’s 2025 season was interrupted by injury, which naturally affected how he was viewed in the public eye. Missing a chunk of the season can always create a distorted perception, especially in a league that often overreacts to what happened most recently. Yet even that context does not justify the fall all the way to 69th. Greatness should not disappear because of a shortened season, especially when the full body of work still screams elite status. If anything, the injury-plagued year should have been a temporary footnote, not the reason a generational quarterback gets shoved down the list.
That is why the smartest way to view the ranking is as motivation, not validation. Jackson does not need the NFL Top 100 list to tell him what kind of player he is, and the Ravens certainly do not need it to understand his importance to their championship hopes. His career already belongs in the highest tier of NFL history because of the way he has dominated, evolved, and carried an offense with both his arm and his legs. The only thing missing is the Super Bowl trophy, and that is what gives this next chapter with new head coach Jesse Minter so much weight. If Jackson stays healthy, the idea that he is anything less than a top-five player in football becomes even harder to defend.
In the end, the 69th ranking says more about the limitations of the list than it does about Lamar Jackson. He is already one of the defining players of his era, and the resume is too strong to be dragged down by a questionable vote. The league can keep pretending the ranking is some kind of authoritative snapshot, but the football world knows better. Jackson’s career has already reached a level that demands respect, and the only real question left is whether he can finish the story with a championship. Until then, the ranking will stand as a reminder that not all player-voted lists are worth taking seriously.
