QB Stock Market Week 5: Lamar Jackson is playing like the best player in the NFL, again

Henry McKenna

NFL Reporter

The 2024 QB class had itself a week, folks.

Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix all got Ws. That said, let’s not go crazy about where they stand in these rankings. Only one of them made a big jump. (You can probably guess who.) One of them actually fell significantly in the rankings. (You can probably also guess who.) But it was a fascinating week for the youngsters, who are having mixed success in the NFL.

Let’s dive into where they landed among the veterans in this week’s QB Stock Market.

For these rankings, we weigh this week’s performance with 30% importance with 70% applied to the rest of 2024. One question holds importance above all others: What have you done for your team lately?

Previous weeks: 1, 2, 3, 4

1. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (⬆️ 1)

The poor, poor Bengals have to figure what in the world to do with Lamar this week.

There is really no answer.

Against the Bills this past weekend, he took exactly what the defense offered him. Every hole in the zone? Jackson found it. Every winnable matchup in man? Jackson found it. Every opportunity to tuck and run? Jackson found it.

Lamar has been excellent to start the season, even if the Ravens’ record (2-2) doesn’t necessarily reflect as much. It was entirely possible — after the devastating loss to the Chiefs and ensuing upset loss to the Raiders — that Baltimore could open the season 0-4. But Jackson did what his critics have often said he doesn’t: win big games. He beat Dallas. He beat Buffalo. On to Cincinnati.

2. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (⬆️ 4)

If Patrick Mahomes isn’t going to play like himself, I’m going to look for traces of his game in other players. And I was thrilled to find it in Brock Purdy in Week 4.

Yes, we’re talking about the same Brock Purdy.

During the 49ers opening drive on Sunday, Purdy dropped back on third-and-9 from the Patriots’ 21 and the pocket collapsed. And although Purdy isn’t the biggest quarterback, he bounced off linemen and refused to go down.

That’s when his creativity kicked in.

He was rolling to his left and he pointed downfield to direct George Kittle into place. The tight end was picking up what Purdy was putting down — they worked together to convert the scramble drill. Purdy flipped the ball downfield while fading left and throwing right. (That’s a tough throw!) He placed it in a safe spot where it could only be a completion or an incompletion. (That’s a smart throw!) Kittle dove to snag the ball and a first down.

Not too shabby.

Purdy has the second-highest passing EPA (21.7) in the NFL. He’s second in passing yards. He’s even getting it done with his legs, with eight first downs on 18 carries this year. He has barely skipped a beat despite injuries to Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Deebo Samuel. It didn’t help to have Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk holding out from training camp. You can see those now-settled contract disputes — and Aiyuk’s in particular — still having ripple effects on this offense.

But Purdy has been the stabilizing presence at the center of the entire team, even when the 49ers have played uncharacteristically sloppy football to start the year.

3. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (⬆️ 1)
4. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (⬇️ 3)
5. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (⬆️ 2)

The rookie just keeps getting better.

Washington has steadily put more and more on Daniels’ plate every week. Just a few weeks ago, they were spamming receiver screens. The training wheels were on. This week, they didn’t just take them off — they let Daniels hit 60 mph on the dirt bike.

He is playing with nuance in the pocket. He’s not just seeing open receivers; he’s helping them create separation with deceptive eyes. All the while, he’s an absolute menace with his legs. There is no reason why this rookie can’t top this list over the next few weeks.

6. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (⬆️ 5)
7. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (⬆️ 13)
8. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (⬆️ 4)
9. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (⬇️ 1)
10. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (↔)

11. Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints (⬆️ 11)
12. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets (⬇️ 9)
13. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (⬆️ 2)

Did Goff just pitch a perfect game?

Wait, which sport am I writing about?

He’s been having a bad year. He’s put up a lot of mediocre film and statistics. But my goodness, he was cooking the Seahawks on Monday night. I mean the counting stats are boring, normally.

But look at these!

18/18
292 yards
2 TDs
155.8 QB rating

After he caught a score in the third quarter, Goff was the Lions’ receiving touchdowns leader — tied with three other players. And I had planned to make fun of him for that (because, of course, it showed that he had thrown only three touchdowns this year), but then he threw a 70-yarder to Jameson Williams, who in turn became Detroit’s new receiving touchdowns leader. And the joke was dead.

Goff is putting together a stinker of a season. But I’ve gotta hand it to him: He balled out in Week 4.

14. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (⬇️ 1)
15. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (⬇️ 10)
16. Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers (⬆️ 5)
17. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (new)
18. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (⬇️ 4)
19. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (⬇️ 1)
20. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (⬆️ 4)

You’ve probably seen by now the video of Herbert smashing his helmet on the sideline during the team’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Because Herbert would never admit what, exactly, made him want to Hulk Smash, I’ve decided to make a list of things that could be irking him.

1) His best receiver is a rookie.
2) He is in the same division as Patrick Mahomes.
3) He is in the same division as Andy Reid.
4) He has 91 pass attempts this year (28th among QBs).
5) His EPA is 6.9 (26th among QBs).
6) Jim Harbuagh is a hard-ass, so the argument that Herbert can’t make an impact on the game if he doesn’t get to throw the ball won’t go very far with his coach.
7) Mike Williams is a Jet.
8) Keenan Allen is a Bear.
8) Patrick Mahomes is a Chief. (Oh wait, I said that already. But that’s how annoying it must be!)
10) Last, but certainly not least: Herbert is a Charger.

I get that quarterbacks can change a franchise. That’s what Herbert was doing — until a series of coaching changes have left him powerless. At least Herbert is winning? Is that satisfying, even if he’s not allowed to really play QB in the ways that make him special?

21. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons (⬇️ 12)
22. Daniel Jones, New York Giants (⬇️ 6)
23. Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers (⬇️ 4)
24. Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots (⬆️ 1)
25. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (⬆️ 1)
26. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (⬆️ 2)

Even in the quick game, Williams isn’t all that quick.

Even when he’s rifling the ball and showing off his power, he’s lacking in accuracy — sometimes throwing the ball 10 feet high or wide to an open receiver.

There might not have been a more concerning moment for Williams than in the third quarter this past Sunday when he overthrew the ball to D.J. Moore. The receiver had ample separation. He’d beaten the cornerback, and the safety was cheating to the wrong side of the field. For most passers, it was a touchdown waiting to happen. Williams uncorked a bullet to Moore — that was entirely uncatchable.

It’s one thing for Williams to struggle with anticipation throws. (And he’s definitely struggling there.) It’s another thing for him to struggle to hit wide open receivers.

He’s often a hair too slow. Then he’s a mile too fast.

But … But! When he’s good, he’s spellbindingly good.

There might not have been a more impressive moment than when he hit Cole Kmet over the middle in the fourth quarter. Williams zipped the ball over two defenders into a hole in the defense where only Kmet could catch the ball. It was ridiculous.

There’s still hope. It’s just that he has much further to go than we’d anticipated.

27. Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders (↔)
28. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (⬆️ 1)
29. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (⬇️ 6)
30. Will Levis, Tennessee Titans (↔)
31. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns (↔)
32. Tyler Huntley, Miami Dolphins (new)

Henry McKenna is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

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