3 stats Lamar Jackson must improve for the Baltimore Ravens in 2023

Rob Carr/GettyImages
2 of 3
 Indianapolis Colts v Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson
Rob Carr/GettyImages

2. Lamar Jackson is not giving the Baltimore Ravens enough big-time-throws

The biggest aspect of Lamar Jackson is that he can make plays. He can make them with his feet, but he has always been able to make them through the air as well. When he extends the play he is able to make magic, and he also has always had an arm to make passes in big spots.

For his career, Lamar Jackson has a 4.8% big-time throw rate. In his MVP season, that number was 5.4%, and last year, it was 5%. His career low was 3.3% as a rookie, and beyond that, he has never been below 4.7%. Expect this year it is down to 3.3%.

We cannot blame the playmakers this year, even if Andrews missed week one and Beckham left early week two and missed week three. They still have Zay Flowers, and at when one of those two is in, this is a better group than the year before.

One thing you can point to is Jackson throwing more screen passes. A higher chunk of his throws have no shot to big-time throws, so of course, the number will go down. However, Jackson also is not making the big passes that he needs to guide the Ravens to victory.

Can Zay Flowers be that player? In two out of three weeks, he has been a gadget player, but in week two, he caught a huge pass from Jackson. The team needs more out of the big plays in the passing game.

Schedule