The Baltimore Ravens are probably going to go as far as Lamar Jackson can take them this season, and the second-year quarterback appears to be headed in the right direction with the regular season a month away.
Jackson struggled with accuracy and throwing the ball down the field as a rookie last year, and he has admitted he needs to get better at making plays with his arm rather than just his legs. Ravens fans should feel good about the fact that Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic listed Jackson among his five players who have impressed at training camp thus far, noting that the former Louisville star “looks like a different quarterback” than he did in minicamp back in June.
“It would be easy not to include him, because he seems to be the story of every practice,” Zrebiec wrote. “However, he’s made huge strides since the start of camp.”
Jackson was openly critical of himself for some of the passing struggles he had earlier in the offseason, so perhaps he has worked through some of those issues. New offensive coordinator Greg Roman has made it clear he is not concerned about Jackson’s style, but NFL quarterbacks have to be able to pass the ball effectively. Jackson averaged just 7.1 yards per attempt last season and completed 58.2 percent of his throws. If those numbers improve and he can stay healthy, he should have a much easier time keeping defenses on their heels.
