Lamar Jackson shows that he's not a prodigy of a week and takes his place among the NFL's QB Elite | Bleacher's report

Do you remember when people said that Lamar Jackson had to play on broad receiver? That he was too small, too small to play quarterback in the NFL?

"I think wide receiver," said former team manager Bill Polian, now an ESPN analyst, at the position that Jackson should occupy. "Exceptional athlete, exceptional ability to make you miss, exceptional acceleration, exceptional instinct with the ball in your hands, which is rare for wide receivers."

Do you remember when they said that he was not accurate?

Do you remember when an anonymous coach from ACC said that Jackson had no chance to play in the NFL? "None," said the coach. "He can not do the throws and can not read the covers, he's not going to get a chance."

Do you remember all that?

Fast forward to now. There are only two quarters in the NFL that are currently better than Jackson. That's Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. That's it. That's all.

This is not Dak Prescott.

This is not Aaron Rodgers.

This is not Jared Goff or Deshaun Watson. This is not Carson Wentz.

It's Brady, the best of all time, and Mahomes, the MVP. And one could say that, with the numbers that Jackson publishes in his first full season as a starting quarterback of the Ravens, it's not even them. It could be argued that no player is better.

The statistics are staggering. Two weeks ago, against Miami, Jackson threw five touchdowns and only three 20-pass fouls. But as it was the Dolphins, one of the biggest fires in the history of football, some people have called these numbers "luck".

Then came Sunday. The Ravens defeated the Cardinals 23-17, and Jackson earned 24 of 37 points for 272 yards and two touchdowns, and 16 assists for 120 yards.

"You all watched Lamar make good shots all day," said Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury via the team's website. "He has improved a lot there, you have to take his hat off him, he stays there and throws him, he can beat you that way and with his legs, it will be difficult for anyone to handle. "

In two games, Jackson had 41 of 57 points, 596 yards and seven touchdowns.the most through two games in the history of the franchise–with 19 races for 126 yards.

Against the Cardinals, he became the first player in the history of the regular season to have at least 120 rushing yards and 250 yards passing in the same game. (Colin Kaepernick had 263 yards and 181 rushing yards in the playoffs.)

Jackson also became the sixth quarter to rush for at least 100 yards and pass for 250 yards or more in a game. The others to do it were Cam Newton (three times), Kaepernick, Marcus Mariota, Michael Vick and Russell Wilson.

A lot of company at all.

In fact, it presents one of the biggest challenges facing a defense today.

"It will be a real headache for them," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, about the impact of his quarter on opposing teams. "They will have to fend for themselves."

Jackson is in maths. He is calculating. It is the event horizon of a gravity well.

We knew that Jackson could run and we knew that his ability to do it made him dangerous. But his disappearance, the question that so many people have questioned, is what made him dead.

That's what made him so happy to see him brighten up the league, he sticks to the football idiots who see players like him and complain about not checking the boxes archaic that he was supposed to check.

Yes, it is early and yes, neither the Dolphins nor the Cardinals are a good team. But Jackson is so good, he could do that kind of damage to a lot of teams.

It's a real multiverse threat.

He has the in-depth precision of Russell Wilson, who is already becoming a devastating chemistry with rookie Hollywood Brown.

He has the racing ability of Steve Young.

And to top it off, he has an attitude, perhaps due to a flea on the shoulder after being confronted with so many questions from the university, that reminds you of a young Brady.

This is not an overreaction to a small sample. Jackson showed that kind of potential when he started in the race last season. Now, what we see is something special.

If there is a way to watch a player take the quarterback position and make it evolve actively, that's what Jackson does.

"Not bad for an offensive midfielder," Jackson said after the match in Miami.

Not bad at all.

Do you remember when people said that Lamar Jackson would not be a professional quarterback?

He was too small. Or too inaccurate. Or whatever.

Now he's just too … good.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @mikefreemanNFL.