MVP Voter Responds to Criticism for Putting Lamar Jackson Fourth on His Ballot
Former NFL quarterback and current SiriusXM NFL Radio host Jim Miller made headlines last week when the voting results for NFL MVP showed that he gave Lamar Jackson a fourth-place vote.
Miller, the only voter who didn't have Jackson first or second on their ballot, was widely criticized on social media. He acknowledged that on his "Movin' The Chains" broadcast but didn't offer much of an explanation.
"A lot of people loved Lamar," Miller said via Sports Illustrated’s Jon Alfano. "Certainly, I voted a certain way. A lot of people didn't like their take on that. And I had my five."
Perhaps Miller didn't elaborate because there really is no justification for not having Jackson at least in his top three after the two-time MVP had his best season yet and one of the best seasons ever for a quarterback.
Miller awarded his first-place vote to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and placed Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow at second and third, respectively. He had Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes fifth and said he considered putting him first.
"At the end of the day, this is a team sport, and he has won more than anybody," Miller said. "He's 15-2 on the year, and I had to refrain myself, but I would've slept very nicely with him being the MVP for my vote. ... So I sleep very good with how I voted. A lot of people didn't like it because Lamar is quite a player."
Miller added that even if he gave Jackson his first-place vote, it wouldn't have changed the final result. Allen finished with 383 votes to edge Jackson, who had 362.
Jackson Is Early Favorite to Win 2025 MVP Award
The odds for next season's MVP are already out, and Jackson is the betting favorite.
Jackson is at +450. He is followed by Allen (+600), Mahomes (+700), Burrow (+750), and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (+1100).
The Athletic's Jess Bryant likes Jackson's chances.
"At the top of the board, Lamar Jackson is not a value pick, but he is nearly guaranteed to be in the running next year, and the odds are still good at +450," Bryant wrote. "Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman are back. If the Ravens add another top-tier wide receiver, watch out. Jackson is probably hampered a little by Henry because he has to share offensive success credit with the Ravens' primary back. But Jackson remains the primary reason Baltimore wins games … well, and maybe Head Coach John Harbaugh."
Kyle Hamilton: 'We Have Everything You Want to Win a Championship'
Kyle Hamilton appeared on “The Mina Kimes Show” and reflected on how the Ravens' season ended and the team's outlook for next season.
"I've had so many people ask me what the Ravens are missing. I'm like, literally nothing," Hamilton said. "We have everything you want to win a championship. It's just we haven't been playing well when we got to the point that we need to win. There's no excuses for that. It's just offense, defense, special teams, we have to do better."
Hamilton noted that the Ravens were playing their best football of the season heading into the divisional round game in Buffalo, but they fell behind 21-10 at halftime en route to a 27-25 defeat.
"During the regular season every year I've been here it seems like we get in a groove and there's like a six-week stretch where we're just blowing people out, and I think we sometimes struggle with playing from behind because we don't do it a lot," Hamilton said. "So in the playoffs, on the road, hostile environment, playing from behind was just unusual territory, so we have to lock in that much more. Obviously don't plan on playing from behind in the future, but if it does happen, we have to be able to respond correctly and just execute.
"Specifically on this Bills game, we had a couple turnovers, our defense didn't start well. Offense came out and scored on the first drive and we gave up a touchdown right back. We don't want it to fall on our offense to have to go down and score; we want it to be on the defense to get that stop and win the game for us. Both sides of the ball, obviously it's going to be a tough offseason to have to live with that. But we have another year and hopefully right that wrong."
Pundit Says Chiefs Should Pursue Ronnie Stanley
Ronnie Stanley is regarded as the top left tackle set to hit the open market, and whether the Ravens will re-sign the two-time Pro Bowler is one of the team's main offseason questions.
Pro Football Focus' Dalton Wasserman said Stanley would be an ideal signing for the Chiefs, whose offensive line was dominated by the Eagles in the Super Bowl.
"They need to protect Patrick Mahomes at all costs. If they do, they can certainly keep their championship window open," Wasserman wrote. "They have questions to answer at multiple spots on the offensive line, no more so than at left tackle. A sensible veteran replacement could be Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley, who finished this season with an outstanding 84.1 PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets. That was the fifth-best mark by any qualified tackle this season."
Stanley, 31, accepted a reported $7.5 million pay cut to stay with the Ravens last year but will likely be highly sought after this offseason. He battled injuries the past several years but started every game for the first time in his career this past season.
If Stanley doesn't re-sign, the Ravens could move right tackle Roger Rosengarten, who had a strong rookie season, to the left side. Rosengarten played left tackle to start his college career at Washington but flipped sides to protect the blindside of lefty quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
