Lamar Jackson is who the Falcons thought they were drafting in 2001

When the Atlanta Falcons drafted Michael Vick 20 years ago, he was supposed to revolutionize the NFL. Lamar Jackson is finishing what Vick started all those years ago.

There would be no Lamar Jackson without former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. Not in the sense that Vick had anything to do with his creation, rather Lamar grew up watching Mike and wanted to emulate the former star quarterback.

Lamar is everything that Michael was – electric, fun, polarizing, and the best athletes on the field among a league full of world-class athletes. There is one difference, Lamar Jackson is everything Mike never was – a real quarterback.

As electric and fun as Mike was during his six-year run in Atlanta, he was never a good quarterback let alone elite. Mike had no idea what “putting touch” on a football meant and admittedly spent his run in Atlanta playing backyard football with no regard for his playbook.

Mike had some great moments, none bigger than leading the Atlanta Falcons over the Green Bay Packers in the 2002 NFC first round. Mike had accomplished something that had never been done before, beat the Packers in Green Bay during the playoffs.

Because of Lamar Jackson, that is now the only remaining accomplishment no one can ever take away from Mike.

In Mike’s last season in Atlanta, 2006, he broke the record for most rushing yards in a season with 1,039. Mike started all 16 games that year and led the Falcons to a 7-9 record and no playoff appearance. Through 14 games in his second year in the league, Lamar Jackson has broken that record and sits at 1,103 yards with two more games remaining.

Lamar Jackson is everything that Atlanta Falcons fans wanted out of Michael Vick but never got.

With two games left in the regular season, the Ravens have all but locked up the number one seed in the AFC and Vegas’ favorite to win the Super Bowl in Miami and they have gotten there on Lamar’s feet, his arm, and his leadership.

All the Atlanta Falcons ever got out of Mike was his feet. He was a terrible quarterback in the pocket, was highly inaccurate and never opened his playbook. His feet were electric, but look at what the total package looks like.

That is was we thought we were getting with the first-round pick of the 2001 NFL draft, that is was the Ravens stole with the last pick of the first round in the 2018 NFL draft.

Michael was supposed to revolutionize the quarterback position, Lamar Jackson actually is and he will undoubtedly lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl title, something that Mike never came close to delivering for the Atlanta Falcons.