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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was at the top of the NFL last season, winning the MVP award and shattering various franchise and league records. While he improved dramatically as a passer, it was still his legs that drew Jackson the most praise and highlights.
The Ravens led the league in rushing yards last season, breaking a 41-year-old record in the process. While running backs Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards were a big part of Baltimore’s success on the ground, it was Jackson that actually led the team with 1,206 rushing yards and a 6.9-yard-per-carry average. Even though Jackson avoided quite a lot of hits by using the sideline to his advantage, the Ravens would be wise to limit just how often they use their quarterback as a lead runner.
According to Jackson himself, that’s precisely what’s going to happen.
“I doubt I’m going to be carrying the ball a lot going on further into the future, because we’ve got dynamic running backs,” Jackson said in a pre-draft press conference.
At the time of Jackson’s statement, Baltimore had Ingram, Edwards, and Justice Hill in the backfield. But with the selection of J.K. Dobbins in the second round, Jackson’s assessment of the running back depth chart proved even more accurate. The Ravens now have several running backs capable of bruising runs up the middle with the athleticism to run routes and catch passes out of the backfield. With such a deep and impressive backfield, there’s less of a need for Jackson to carry the workload like he did last season.
Jackson is also continuing to develop and mature as a quarterback in the NFL. Part of that development, as is the case with every mobile quarterback in the league, is figuring out when to run and when it’s better to throw the football away or let the running backs get the ball instead. As Jackson continues to play smarter football, it’s likely we’ll see him run less often anyway.
That’s not to say Jackson will completely eliminate running the football from his playstyle. Taking away his most dynamic traits wouldn’t be a smart move for either the Ravens or Jackson. But instead of Jackson taking unnecessary hits for a yard or two, we’ll likely see him focus his rushing ability to when defenses leave him wide open and on more important plays that are worth the increased risk.
It’ll be interesting to see just how much Jackson grows in that department this season and how much the coaching staff leans on such an expansive backfield in their playcalling. But regardless, it appears we’ll see yet another evolution to Baltimore’s offense and Jackson specifically.
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