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When most people think of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, they probably don’t think of deep passes. Yet, it’s something more really should.
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar has been taking a deep dive through the NFL to rank the best players at specific tasks. While we already know Jackson is the best mobile quarterback in the league, Farrar put him right in the middle of his list of the best deep-ball passers.
“Including the postseason, he completed 27 of 68 deep passes for 829 yards, 12 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 113.3, fifth-best in the league among quarterbacks who took at least 50% of their snaps.”
Those numbers are somewhat shocking to read. It felt like Jackson didn’t throw downfield very often at all last season, outside of a few games where he kept trying to connect with wide receiver Marquise Brown on deep balls. Yet, 68 passes would be 17% of all of Jackson’s passing attempts last season, while also accounting for 26.5% of his total passing yards and a third of his touchdown passes from 2019.
Farrar also pointed out that Jackson was pretty spot on in Baltimore’s playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans, connecting on 5-of-13 deep passes for 135 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. For a game that saw the Ravens bludgeoned for 60 minutes, that type of success downfield is impressive.
If Jackson is truly one of the best deep-ball quarterbacks in the league, 2020 could be his season to further break out as a passer.
Marquise Brown is finally healthy, looking faster and thicker than he was last year. Miles Boykin has a rare combination of speed and size, which has him primed for a breakout season. Rookie Devin Duvernay is also ridiculously fast and will likely see some targets on deep balls. And we certainly can’t forget Mark Andrews, who was Jackson’s favorite target last year and cemented himself as one of the best tight ends in the NFL in the process.
Regardless of your feelings when the Ravens selected Jackson in the 2018 NFL Draft, he’s proven himself to be deadly to defenses in so many ways. As he continues to develop and mature as a quarterback, it seems like the sky is the limit for Jackson and Baltimore.
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