Ravens Reporter, Former Player Share Heated Lamar Jackson Debate
It seems like no matter what he does, Baltimore Ravens star quarterback is always at the center of a heated debate.
This time, the debate begins with Mark Schlereth, a three-time Super Bowl-winning guard and FOX Sports analyst. On a recent episode of his "Stinkin' Truth" podcast, Schlereth went after Jackson and his supporters, claiming that he doesn't "develop" his wide receivers and calling for him to produce in the postseason.
Naturally, Schlereth received some heavy pushback on that opinion, and only doubled down on his criticism for the two-time MVP.
Enter Sarah Ellison, co-host of "The Vault" podcast and a former editor for the Ravens' site. Ellison refuted Schlereth's claim of Jackson failing to develop his wide receivers, instead pointing to the team's lackluster history of drafting at the position.
"You made a fair point about the Ravens using draft capital on the WR position. They invested TONS of draft capital," Ellison wrote on X. "The pushback is because the Ravens organization has a long history of missing at the WR position. Whether it’s due to bad picks or inability to develop, they’ve missed repeatedly.
"This history pre-dates Lamar’s arrival. Shoot, it’s been happening since Lamar was in diapers, yet you’ve seemingly pinned it on him alone."
Schlereth responded shortly after, pointing out that the Ravens drafted far fewer first-round wide receivers without Jackson than with him, and that the team won two Super Bowls before the Jackson era as well. In another response, Ellison pointed out that those teams had quality veteran receivers to work with, a luxury Jackson hasn't had throughout much of his career.
"Fans want proven vets like that who can step up when it counts for Lamar," Ellison wrote. "I hope we both can agree the first Super Bowl was won on the back of the best defense *ever* in a very different era of football 24 years ago.
"And no goalposts were moved at all on my end. You can take any cluster you want in the Ravens’ drafting history, and you will find misses non-stop at the WR position, with or without Lamar. That’s not moving the goalposts - it’s at the core of the debate."
Schlereth responded one last time, claiming that modern receivers don't want to play in an offense that's as run-heacy as Baltimore's. To cap off the debate, for now at least, Ellison invited Schlereth to continue the dispute on one of their podcast.
If Schlereth takes Ellison up on that offer, then it will surely be an interesting watch for any Ravens fan.
JON ALFANO