Lamar Jackson is the reason the Ravens must get the wide receivers right

The Baltimore Ravens have a young quarterback who is more polished as a runner than a passer. Lamar Jackson is however, the Ravens best incentive to finally fix the wide receiver position:

The Baltimore Ravens offense that Lamar Jackson will orchestrate in 2019 is the most misunderstood thing there is in the NFL this offseason. There’s this idea that seems to be going around that the Ravens don’t actually need receivers because Jackson is a limited passer and the Ravens are going to be a ground and pound offense. The idea is that the Ravens are going to walk onto the playing field next September, and ask Jackson to be the exact same player he was in a year he was never supposed to be the starting quarterback. Sigh. This conversation is already getting old.

The Ravens actually need to get the wide receiver position right more than they ever have. The Ravens used to be able to hide behind Flacco’s contract as an excuse to just get by at the position. Now the Ravens have a young quarterback, learning the ways of the NFL. Finding receivers this offseason is a priority because every quarterback needs weapons.

Jackson hasn’t reached the point where he is going to throw a receiver open. He leaned on Mark Andrews and Willie Snead for a reason, they were the only weapons the Ravens had who seemed to create space for themselves in the passing game. The Ravens need players who know how to get open more now than ever.

More from Ebony Bird

• Will Baltimore Ravens tender Tyler Huntley?
• Ranking 5 teams most likely to trade Baltimore Ravens for Lamar Jackson
• Will these comments impact Lamar Jackson and Baltimore Ravens talks?
• 3 Biggest Needs for Ravens in NFL Draft
• Ravens’ Super Bowl odds stagnant amidst Lamar Jackson trade rumors

The Ravens have to develop a passing game and they know that. The Los Angeles Chargers knew that if they kept speedy athletes on the field and honed in on their keys in the running game, they would stop the Ravens. If such an easy to diagnose offense was acceptable to John Harbaugh, his friend, Marty Mornhinweg would still be the offensive coordinator. The Ravens are going to be a run first offense though they aren’t signing up to be one dimensional.

New offensive coordinator, Greg Roman built a foundation for the offense. It happened in the 6-1 stretch. The Ravens made running the football in the NFL inventive again. Now the Ravens have to give defenses different looks, take defenders out of the tackle box and make them play this offense honestly. If the Ravens build a balanced attack with that kind of running game, they will be hard to beat. They will take some Jackson growing pains no matter what they do, but if they do it right they can win while grooming the quarterback of the future.

The argument that the Ravens don’t need receivers because they aren’t going to be a passing oriented team is an idea made up by Jackson’s detractors in hopes that the Ravens give him a short leash and look for another option in 2020. Even in the hypothetical situation that Jackson doesn’t make it as the long-term solution at quarterback, the next guy is going to need players to catch passes.

Jackson has the job. He’s the quarterback the Ravens chose to build around. There’s no quarterback controversy, that ended with Joe Flacco flying to Denver, Colorado. Jackson’s doubters should actually want receiver help more than the rest of the Ravens Flock. If the Ravens built an offense around Jackson that was star studded, and Greg Roman called it well Jackson would be left with less built in excuses. Depriving Jackson of receivers won’t prove anything.