Things have been turning up well for the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson. About a month ago so many fans and media personalities thought that this was the end of Jackson with the Ravens. Now that the NFL draft is over Jackson is signed long term and there is a lot of good reason to think that he may be in store for the best season of his career.
Here are three reasons why Lamar Jackson is set to have his best season since his MVP year.
3. Baltimore Ravens signed Lamar Jackson and still have the best supporting cast around him in his career
So much for the Jackson contract hurting their ability to put pieces around him. A lot of the talk around Jackson during his rookie contract is that the team did not do enough to get him pass catchers, and they treated him like a running quarterback, even when he was growing as a passer.
That is not going to be the case this season. He will always have his safety blanket in Mark Andrews. Rashod Bateman is coming off of a foot injury but when he was on the field was electric. Then, the team added Odell Beckham and Zay Flowers. Those are big names that can move the needle.
Last year, his top receivers were Andrews, Demarcus Robinson, Devin Duvernay, and Isaiah Likely. Now, Robinson is gone, Duvernay has moved down about four or five spots, and Likely is competing with Nelson Agholor and JK Dobbins to be the fifth guy.
In 2021, Watkins was their fourth, and in 2020 he had guys such as Willie Snead and Miles Boykin as his top four wideouts. In 2018 and 2019 he had Nick Boyle in that role.
So, whether you think Odell Beckham will be back to himself, or whether you buy into Zay Flowers as a rookie, you have to admit that both of them are better than guys like Watkins, Demarcus Robinson, Boykin, Snead, and Boyle.
That does not add in that JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards are now fully healthy, Isaiah Likely is in year two, Charlie Kolar may get on the field, and even Nelson Agholor is better than Demarcus Robinson. Those are serious improvements and reasons to buy into the Baltimore Ravens this year.
2. Can the Baltimore Ravens offensive line come together?
This one will essentially come down to two players and whether they can fill the upside expected from them. First, it is Ronnie Stanley. When Stanley is on the field, he is never much of an issue, the question is how much will he be on the field.
In 2019 things were going great for Stanley, and Jackson won the MVP. Then, the last three years have not been the same for Stanley or Jackson. In 2020, he only started six games, with a shoulder issue, and in 2021 it was his ankle that him starting just once. He was eased back in for 2022, but still had just 11 starts,
The reality is that he finished the season healthy and as he stands right now this is about the healthiest he has been since 2020, and maybe even earlier. if that is the case we could see Lamar Jackson get back to his peak.
Beyond that is the first-round center. Tyler Linderbaum had his moments of ups, but his moments of downs as well. Still, center is tough, and he was a rookie. He also was a first-round pick so expectations are for him to get the job done. If he takes a step forward next season the Ravens could be in a really good spot.
When you think about these two you are talking about a left tackle and a center. Those are two line spots that make things go, and the uncertainty in recent years has killed the team. A healthy Ronnie Stanley and a second-year Tyler Linderbaum could go a long way.
1. Baltimore Ravens gave Lamar Jackson an upgrade at offensive coordinator
This cannot be a discrediting of Greg Roman. Roman was a perfect choice for Lamar Jackson during his first couple of years in the NFL. The MVP award went to Lamar Jackson, but Greg Roman deserves credit for bringing that out of him.
Still, the issue with the Roman offense is that he struggled to build off of what he had. He ran a similar offense with Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers, and it got stale and he got fired. Then, he did the same thing with Lamar Jackson, and things got predictable. When Jackson was young and new to the NFL, the simple stuff was perfect.
However, he was ready for the next step and the league was catching up, but Roman did not have the counters. Now, Todd Monken comes in and he may be that guy to turn things up a notch or two.
Monken had an aerial attack with Tampa Bay that featured multiple wide receivers, and he had a strong rushing attack that featured multiple tight ends. Still, his Georgia offense was also explosive. Monken has proven that he can b someone who has counters, and he is someone who does not have one scheme or system, but rather a colleciton of plays that can be molded around the skills of his players.
When you look at how things broke for Lamar Jackson it really does not get any better. He saw the team add big-name receivers. His offensive line is healthy and ready to roll, and they got more serious at offensive coordinator. This could be the best that we will see of Jackson.