3 questions facing Lamar Jackson and the future of the Baltimore Ravens
2. How far away is Jackson as a passer?
What we know about Jackson is his physical abilities and his impressive composure as a rookie. What we know about Jackson is that while he has arm talent, he is not a polished NFL passer. Some of Jackson’s critics say that he can’t throw. That’s a laughable claim, considering he’s hit receivers in stride down the field. The real complaint should be that Jackson has been too inconsistent as a passer to put up any kind of respectable passing numbers. One play Jackson is hitting Mark Andrews down the field for a 74 yard strike, the next he is under throwing Michael Crabtree and getting picked off.
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The encouraging thing is that we’ve seen Jackson do all the things an NFL quarterback needs to be able to do. He does go through progressions. He does make all the different types of throws required of the NFL passer. He just doesn’t string these achievements together. Jackson is leaning on his athletic ability because that’s the one thing that you can’t doubt. Jackson is one of the most incredible athletes you will ever see and that will always be a part of who he is as a quarterback.
Jackson is a work in progress but he is much further along than most people suspected in the preseason. Jackson has a 59.7 completion percentage. Flacco has a 61.2 completion percentage. The point is that Jackson is completing more passes than he is getting credit for. In three weeks he’s had 19, 25 and 21 passing attempts. That’s not a lot of passing by NFL standards but the fact that Jackson is getting that much work as a passer, means the Ravens know he’s a capable quarterback.