You can say watching Lamar Jackson is like looking into the past, if you want to say he reminds you of Michael Vick. And you can say watching Lamar Jackson is like looking into the future, if you want to believe the football world will someday be inhabited by jet-powered, shape-shifting human missiles. But to say either would be to miss the point.
Lamar Jackson, breathtaking second-year quarterback of the 7-2, first-place Baltimore Ravens, is the present. To watch him is to see all that football can be, right here in our current, fortunate moment in history.