No one can fail to notice that our ranking of Lamar Jackson is somewhat lower than most. He's the consensus No. 2 quarterback, I think, and we've got him 6 spots lower. If you follow our rankings, pretty much no chance he'll be on your team.
Jackson has been a top-5 fantasy quarterback three times in his career, in large part because of what he's done as a runner. In those seasons he averaged over 900 rushing yards, with 16 touchdowns on the ground. That's not all of his value (he threw for 36 and 41 touchdowns in two of those years), but it was a big part of it. But he's getting older (he'll turn 30 before the end of the season), and I think we've seen the best of him as a runner.
If his rushing numbers are closer to last year (27 yards per week, with 2 TDs) than the previous seasons (50-plus yards per week in six straight seasons, and nearly 5 TDs per year), he'll be overdrafted.
I don't know, of course, that 29-year-old Jackson rushing for just 27 yards per game is the start of a trend, or just a one-year statistical blip. But I thought I'd look other prolific running quarterbacks this century to see at what point they stopped running. Here are the numbers.
Since 2000, 21 different quarterbacks have rushed for over 500 yards in a season. Five guys have done it 5-plus times, and we all know the names: Lamar, Josh Allen, Michael Vick, Cam Newton and Russell Wilson. At what point did the prolific rushing numbers stop?
Allen is about 6 months older than Lamar; he just turned 30, and he ran for over 500 yards last year. Fair to wonder if he, too, might start slowing down in this regard. But Allen's value is less tied to yards than touchdowns; he's rushed for 12, 14 and 15 TDs the last three years. His new head coach was his coordinator those years, so I'm not expecting that to stop.
Regardless, table below shows Allen, Lamar and the 19 other quarterbacks to rush for at least 500 yards in a season since 2000. It shows their last seasons reaching that total, plus their age those years, and their best seasons after that.
Table is sorted by age. 500-yard rushing seasons are in bold. Ranking at their position in typical leagues (4-point TD passes, 6-point TD runs, 1 point for 20 passing and 10 rushing yards) is also shown.
| QBS WITH 500-PLUS RUSHING YARDS, PLUS BEST SEASONS AFTER | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Age | Pass | TD | Run | TD | Rk |
| 2001 | Rich Gannon, Oak. | 36 | 3828 | 27 | 231 | 2 | 6 |
| 2000 | Rich Gannon, Oak. | 35 | 3430 | 28 | 529 | 4 | 4 |
| 2023 | Russell Wilson, Den. | 35 | 3070 | 26 | 341 | 3 | 14 |
| 2020 | Russell Wilson, Sea. | 32 | 4212 | 40 | 513 | 2 | 6 |
| 2012 | Michael Vick, Phil. | 32 | 2362 | 12 | 332 | 1 | 26 |
| 2021 | Cam Newton, Car. | 32 | 684 | 4 | 230 | 5 | 37 |
| 2020 | Cam Newton, N.E. | 31 | 2657 | 8 | 592 | 12 | 17 |
| 2011 | Michael Vick, Phil. | 31 | 3303 | 18 | 589 | 1 | 12 |
| 2003 | Kordell Stewart, Chi. | 31 | 1418 | 7 | 290 | 3 | 28 |
| 2025 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 29 | 3668 | 25 | 579 | 14 | 1 |
| 2001 | Kordell Stewart, Pitt. | 29 | 3109 | 14 | 537 | 5 | 10 |
| 2016 | Colin Kaepernick, S.F. | 29 | 2241 | 16 | 468 | 2 | 27 |
| 2017 | Tyrod Taylor, Buff. | 28 | 2799 | 14 | 427 | 4 | 20 |
| 2025 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 28 | 2549 | 21 | 349 | 2 | 20 |
| 2025 | Kyler Murray, Ari. | 28 | 962 | 6 | 173 | 1 | 38 |
| 2024 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 27 | 4172 | 41 | 915 | 4 | 1 |
| 2014 | Colin Kaepernick, S.F. | 27 | 3369 | 19 | 639 | 1 | 16 |
| 2016 | Tyrod Taylor, Buff. | 27 | 3023 | 17 | 580 | 6 | 19 |
| 2024 | Kyler Murray, Ari. | 27 | 3851 | 21 | 572 | 5 | 9 |
| 2025 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 27 | 3224 | 25 | 421 | 8 | 10 |
| 2024 | Daniel Jones, NYG | 27 | 2070 | 8 | 265 | 2 | 30 |
| 2024 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 26 | 2903 | 18 | 630 | 14 | 10 |
| 2003 | Daunte Culpepper, Min. | 26 | 3479 | 25 | 422 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | Justin Fields, NYJ | 26 | 1259 | 7 | 383 | 4 | 30 |
| 2022 | Daniel Jones, NYG | 25 | 3205 | 15 | 708 | 7 | 12 |
| 2002 | Daunte Culpepper, Min. | 25 | 3853 | 18 | 609 | 10 | 1 |
| 2001 | Donovan McNabb, Phil. | 25 | 3233 | 25 | 482 | 2 | 8 |
| 2020 | Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 25 | 4823 | 33 | 444 | 3 | 5 |
| 2025 | Jayden Daniels, Was. | 25 | 1262 | 8 | 278 | 2 | 34 |
| 2012 | Tim Tebow, NYJ | 25 | 39 | 0 | 102 | 0 | 50 |
| 2024 | Jayden Daniels, Was. | 24 | 3568 | 25 | 891 | 6 | 5 |
| 2011 | Tim Tebow, Den. | 24 | 1729 | 12 | 660 | 6 | 19 |
| 2023 | Justin Fields, Chi. | 24 | 2562 | 16 | 657 | 4 | 18 |
| 2000 | Donovan McNabb, Phil. | 24 | 3365 | 21 | 629 | 6 | 5 |
| 2013 | Terrelle Pryor, Oak. | 24 | 1798 | 7 | 576 | 2 | 27 |
| 2007 | Vince Young, Ten. | 24 | 2546 | 9 | 395 | 3 | 17 |
| 2006 | Vince Young, Ten. | 23 | 2199 | 12 | 552 | 7 | 12 |
| 2018 | Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 23 | 4165 | 26 | 551 | 5 | 5 |
| 2013 | Robert Griffin, Was. | 23 | 3203 | 16 | 489 | 0 | 19 |
| 2012 | Robert Griffin, Was. | 22 | 3200 | 20 | 815 | 7 | 10 |
A lot of those prolific runners stopped producing because their careers ended young. Robert Griffin, Vince Young, Colin Kaepernick, Tim Tebow. They didn't run less because they got older, they ran less because they weren't NFL starters anymore. Sometimes age was a factor, but also just that they weren't ever as good as Lamar. So forget those guys.
Of the guys whose NFL career continued into their 30s (there are seven of them), four had a 500-yard rushing season after the age of 29. Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Michael Vick and Rich Gannon. Only Gannon did it after the age of 31. I will take that to mean that while Lamar might have another prolific running season in him, the fat lady will be coming around sooner rather than later.
I'm not sure it's a terribly effective table. We all understand that dual-threat quarterbacks tend to run less as they get older. The question is if Lamar's 2025 season is the beginning of that, or if he has another prolific running season in him. That, we don't know.
But it is a reminder that quarterbacks putting up elite rushing numbers into their 30s isn't common. Vick, Newton, Wilson, Gannon; that's the list. Maybe Lamar can or will do it again this year, but I'm leaning against it. Maybe Josh Allen will do a little less in that regard this year, as well.
--Andy Richardson
