Travis Kelce lauds ‘bulked up’ Lamar Jackson for going head on against Chiefs’ John Cena

Lamar Jackson has come a long way since entering the league in 2018. He has won 2 MVPs and established himself as one of the best at his position.

Compatriot Travis Kelce talked about Jackson’s progress as an athlete and lauded the way he went up against one of his teammates. While speaking about their season opener against the Baltimore Ravens, Travis Kelce was describing Jackson’s growth to his brother Jason Kelce on their podcast New Heights.

When we saw him in the AFC, he was (enacting a jacked body). He wasn't the thin dude like he was at Louisville and his first couple of years. He bulked up. He's breaking arm tackles. For sure, he broke an arm tackle. One of the biggest arms on our team, John Cena, Leo Chenal. Broke his arm tackle and threw a deep touchdown pass to Zay Flowers in the 1st quarter. Of course, Lamar's one of the most motivated guys in the league. One of the most dangerous quarterbacks to play this game. It'll be a fun matchup.

Travis Kelce said

Kelce acknowledged that Jackson has evolved his physique to be able to take the rigors of the game. Something that has helped him elevate himself to be one of the best at his position. When Lamar Jackson won his first NFL regular season MVP award, it was mostly due to his ability to run the ball. He set the NFL record for rushing yards for a quarterback due to his shiftiness and ability to evade tackles. He won his second regular season MVP mostly on the back of his much-improved passing game.

While his ability to evade tackles has not diminished, as Travis Kelce mentioned, he uses his bulk to shed tackles. The first game of the season will be interesting when an improved Baltimore Ravens attack takes on Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs in an AFC Championship game rematch.

Lamar Jackson will be looking to avenge AFC Championship loss against Travis Kelce

In that discussion, Jason Kelce mentioned that the Ravens adding Derrick Henry will make them difficult to handle for opposition defenses. That alone has sent chills down the spine of opposing defensive coordinators, wondering how to counter the two-headed attack. The Ravens could feast on play-action schemes knowing that defenses will be on their toes.

This will be the biggest problem the Kansas City Chiefs will have to tackle in game 1. Their defense will be tasked to not only avoid a week 1 loss, but also potentially show the league how to handle the new powerhouse of an offense. Jackson and his teammates will relish the opportunity to get one back against the Chiefs.

They had stopped a potential Super Bowl run en route to winning it for the 3rd time in 5 years. This season Jackson would like to take the next step.

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