Lamar Jackson voted NBA players' favorite athlete, according to poll by The Athletic
Former Louisville football quarterback Lamar Jackson was voted as the NFL MVP for the second time last season.
Additionally — and perhaps just as importantly — the Baltimore Ravens signal-caller was voted the favorite non-NBA athlete among anonymously polled league players, according to a recent poll from The Athletic.
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With a leading 13% of votes from 115 participating players, Jackson led the way just ahead of Caitlin Clark, who recently went No. 1 in the 2024 WNBA Draft to the Indiana Fever: She ad 6.1% of votes. The top five was rounded out by Novak Djokovic (4.3%) and Usain Bolt, Patrick Mahomes and Mike Tyson tied at 3.5%.
“He’s one of the best QBs ever since he came into the league,” one player said in the poll. “His running ability is crazy.”
Jackson played three seasons for the Cardinals, passing for 8,748 career yards with 68 touchdowns, along with 3,970 yards with 48 more scores. He also won the 2016 Heisman Trophy.
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Lamar Jackson stats
NFL career (six seasons): 1,362 of 2,112 passing (64.5%) for 15,887 yards with 125 touchdowns to 45 interceptions; 875 rushes for 5,258 yards with 29 touchdowns
2023: 307 of 457 passing (67.2%) for 3,678 yards with 24 touchdowns to seven interceptions; 148 carries for 821 yards with five touchdowns
Lamar Jackson draft
With the 2024 NFL Draft set to start on Thursday, here's a look back at where former Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson was drafted:
Year: 2018
Round: 1
Pick: 32
Team: Baltimore Ravens
Jackson was the fifth quarterback selected in 2018, behind Baker Mayfield (1), Sam Darnold (3), Josh Allen (7) and Josh Rosen (10).
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Lamar Jackson voted NBA players' favorite athlete, according to The Athletic