Jags’ Jalen Ramsey has QB opinions, and Eli Manning gets no love

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey has opinions.

At least, that was the focus of GQ’s Clay Skipper’s interview with Ramsey, published Wednesday. And a good number of the opinions the 2016 first-round draft pick and 2017 All-Pro shared with Skipper involved numerous NFL quarterbacks.

Josh Allen, the Buffalo Bills’ 2018 Round 1 draft pick? “He’s trash.” The Baltimore Ravens’ Joe Flacco? “I played him two years in a row. He sucks.” The San Francisco 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo? “It was all schemes. He didn’t beat us. It wasn’t like he diced us up. It was literally all schemes.”

And while not all of Ramsey’s assessments of the league’s passers was negative—he believes Houston’s Deshaun Watson and Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz are the future of the position and that Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady “don’t suck” — the New York Giants’ Eli Manning was not one of the quarterbacks who drew Ramsey’s praise.

“Eli [Manning]... It’s not really Eli. I think it’s Odell [Beckham, Jr.],” said Ramsey of the Giants’ quarterback’s success, continuing, “I won’t say Eli’s good, I’ll say Odell’s good. And their connection is good.”

Ramsey isn’t wrong about the connection between Manning and Beckham, of course: Beckham’s three healthy seasons from 2014 through 2017 saw him surpass 1,300 yards each year. In turn, Manning posed three of his four highest career passing yardage totals and two of his three highest passing touchdown totals.

But, lest Ramsey forget, Manning and Beckham are just entering their fifth season together. Manning spent 10 years with the Giants before Beckham hit the scene, reaching the playoffs five times (and, you know, helping the Giants win the Super Bowl twice) in the pre-Beckham era. Yes, Beckham has made Manning’s life a lot easier, but such is the case for any quarterback lucky to have an elite-level receiver among his targets.

Manning supplied a rebuttal of sorts when asked about Ramsey’s comments after Wednesday’s practice, offering a “No comment,” followed by a cheeky, “Who?” according to Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com:

While Ramsey isn’t wrong that the Manning-to-Beckham connection has helped Manning statistically since 2014, there’s more to Manning’s success in New York and his longevity as a starter. Still, Ramsey’s verdict could have been a lot worse. Sorry, Flacco.