Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh believes Lemar Jackson will become the "greatest quarterback ever to play in the history of the NFL".
In February, at 27, Jackson became the youngest-ever two-time NFL MVP since the AFL merger.
Since he joined in 2018, he has led the Ravens to their best records in the league, going 14-2 in 2019 and 13-4 last year. In the regular-season, Jackson has the second-best record at 58-19 (.753).
However, he has been known to struggle in the postseason, losing four of his six playoff games, including the AFC Championship game against eventual Super Bowl winners Kansas City Chiefs last season.
When asked about Jackson's failure to reach the showpiece game, Harbaugh passionately defended the quarterback, reiterating the team's faith in him.
"There's a lot of great things said about Lamar, but there's a lot of stuff that's said that you just got to scratch your head about and kind of wonder, 'What's that person even thinking?'" Harbaugh said on Sunday. "But we take it personally.
"All his life, Lamar Jackson has been a guy who's been answering those same questions.
"I'm talking about since he was a kid. Junior high, high school, college, the draft. The success he's had in the [NFL], again, it still comes up.
"OK, now he's still growing. He's got a growth mindset. He's going to get better and better, no doubt. But what does he have to do to prove himself to some people? Right?"
"The vision that we have together is that Lamar Jackson is going to become and be known and be recognized as the greatest quarterback ever to play in the history of the National Football League.
"It's going to happen by Lamar, his work ethic and his brilliant talent, by all of us pouring into that effort together as a team and by the grace of God and God's goodwill."
Since being picked by Baltimore in the 2018 NFL draft, Jackson has run more yards than any other quarterback (5,258) and has thrown 125 touchdown passes in 77 starts.
The Ravens will kick off the new season against the Chiefs on September 6.