Via Twitter, Ravens fans submitted bold predictions. Let’s see which predictions I buy and which one I don’t:
@thecarlosjames has five Ravens predictions. Five bold ones:
- Marquise Brown breaks Ravens franchise record for receiving yards in a season
- Lamar Jackson will have 4,000 passing yards and 800 rushing yards
- Defense will hold teams to 13 PPG
- Matthew Judon will have 15 sacks
- Justin Tucker kicks one for 62 yards
Verdict: I’ll buy some of that
Let’s take this one prediction at a time. I wouldn’t be shocked if Marquise Brown breaks the franchise record for the most receiving yards in a season. I went to Pro-Football-Reference to check out how many yards Brown would need. To top Michael Jackson’s 1996 season, Brown would need 1,202 yards. That’s quite possible. Brown had 584 yards in 2019, but there were a few factors that held him back.
First he was a rookie. Secondly he was dealing with injury all season long and the Ravens didn’t have a lot of help at the receiver position. Assuming Brown comes into the season 100 percent he could have a monster season. He’s still the go to guy, but he’s less lonely in the receiver department. I keep saying that Brown can become the Ravens version of Tyreek Hill, so I absolutely believe 1,202 yards is possible.
I don’t think those will be Jackson’s numbers so I’m selling that. It’s not that I don’t think he’s capable of 4,000 passing yards, but rather I don’t think he needs that kind of production. The Ravens will always be a run-first team. Last season, Jackson had 3,127 passing yards. You could sell me on 3,500 yards but the offense isn’t going to change enough for him to get 4,000 yards in the air. Put him down for 3,300 yards passing, 40 touchdown passes and an even 1,000 rushing yards.
13 points per game allowed by the defense? That would be an incredible feat to pull off. Last season things went incredibly well and the Ravens gave up an average of 17.6 points per game. 13 points is a bit rich, but I will buy that it will be under 20.
Nobody defends Matt Judon more than me, but 15 sacks isn’t going to happen. I see 12 sacks, which would still be a career high. As for Justin Tucker, I absolutely believe he can hit a 62 yard field goal. He had a 61 yard field goal that had a little extra power on it in 2013. It’s hard to predict if he will have to try a field goal of that distance, but I buy he can do it.
@EmCWesB predicts: Lamar Jackson will be the top 5 in passing yards but won’t finish top 5 in QB rush yards.
Verdict: Sell
I have a hard time believing that Jackson doesn’t rush for 1,000 yards next season. I have a hard time believing there will be enough quarterbacks making a big enough impact with their running to keep Jackson out of the top five in rushing yards. I think the passing numbers will go up a bit but the rushing numbers won’t go down a ton. Jackson can so effortlessly pick up big chunks of yards on the ground. He may run less, but he will always make that a major threat defenses have to worry about.