Three Reasons Lamar Jackson Will Start in 2018

With the Baltimore Ravens entrenched in a tight quarterback contest, Lamar Jackson seems like the obvious winner in the long run. But what if he is ready now?

Since being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the final pick of the first round in the 2018 NFL draft, there has been speculation that Lamar Jackson isn’t ready for the next stage, or that he will never have long-term impact in the league. However, given the right mentors, and possibly being in the right place at the right time, that might be the furthest thing from the truth.

The hype of that storyline is only going to increase over the course of the off season as Jackson has cemented himself firmly in the middle of the Raven’s quarterback competition, and is turning a lot of heads.

There are plenty of reasons why Jackson may be able to start for the Ravens this season, if not even right away.

The Ravens Have a Plan for Jackson

Jackson fell further than many expected to the last pick of the first round, but it has been clear that the Ravens had a plan for Jackson all along. Baltimore chose to trade away for a later pick because of their confidence that they would snag Jackson later in the first round, and then took South Carolina tight end Hayden Hurst with pick 25. When Jackson was still available, as the Ravens suspected, after some quarterback-heavy teams picked late in the first round, they were able to swoop in and swipe Jackson before he fell to day two.

“They don’t take this kid, and do what they do unless the owner is putting significant heat on everybody there,” said Jason La Canfora of cbsports.com on the Glenn Clark Radio show in Baltimore. La Canfora went on to say that his sources have told him that the Ravens in fact did want to take Jackson at 16th, but owner Steve Bisciotti was convinced otherwise.

Ultimately, it was a wise decision as Baltimore got their quarterback for a price that they wanted, but they could also build around him.

All of the pieces are there for the Ravens to succeed. Although many around the franchise are skeptical of Baltimore’s ability to game plan around Jackson, there are signs of potential success. Marty Mornhinweg, Baltimore’s offensive coordinator, has never coached an offense that finished worse than 12th in total offense. He has coached players like Steve Young and Brett Favre, who had similar abilities to Lamar Jackson- a big arm, and ability to evade a pass rusher and make a play.

Jackson is learning behind Joe Flacco, who is a Super Bowl Champion and veteran Pro Bowl quarterback. He also plays alongside Robert Griffin III. Many have compared Jackson to the latter because he has the same type of abilities with break away speed, and a knack for making plays with  both his arm and legs.

The plan all along has been for Jackson to sit for a year and learn from starter Joe Flacco, who has lost a heft amount of fan support due to injury and mediocre play over the years. I asked Ebony Bird’s (Baltimore Ravens) Site Expert Chris Schisler about Jackson getting a large chunk of first team reps at the Ravens recent OTA’s. Here’s what he had to say.

"“The big thing here is that Jackson was able to do it (get first team reps) in the first place. Remember all that talk about him being a project and how unpolished he was? Well that’s starting to look like bad analysis. This doesn’t change anything for the Ravens. Joe Flacco is still the starter for 2018. This was a great learning experience for Jackson and the fact that the Ravens are building him up from the get go is amazing. Jackson is the future and he has to wait, but his tutelage doesn’t.”"

General Manager Ozzie Newsome believes that drafting Jackson is his legacy. Newsome will “retire” at the end of the season, but still work with the Ravens in a yet to be determined fashion. “To be in that position, you never know what tomorrow will bring,” said former browns executive Phil Savage. “But Ozzie is not the type to emotionally react to everything that comes across his desk. He’s a steady hand.”

That steady hand, who wanted to make his final impression as a two-time Super Bowl-winning GM, chose Jackson to build the future of the franchise around.

John Harbaugh Has his Back Against the Wall

“I believe this has to work, because if it doesn’t work, all of these guys know that they’re gone,” said La Canfora of the Ravens coaching staff.

All indications seem to be that the Ravens have lost their touch in the last few drafts, and have not given the coaching staff much to work with. The Ravens went to the playoffs six out of Harbaugh’s first seven seasons and won a Super Bowl. But, it’s a “what have you done for me lately” world, and Harbaugh’s stock, along with the Raven’s confidence in him, is falling fast. Baltimore has missed the playoffs the last three years, including in a very unproductive 2017-2018 season.

Still, the Ravens are giving Harbaugh one last chance, extending his contract until the end of this season in hopes that he can right the ship.

If Harbaugh has been largely unsuccessful, especially on the offensive side of the ball, in the last three seasons, he is going to want to try anything new to get the offense rolling.

Considering what Jackson brings to the team, along with an offensive mastermind Marty Mornhinweg at the helm, the stars may be aligning for Jackson to take the reigns much earlier than expected.

Jackson is the Best Option for the Ravens

Not only are the Ravens in desperate need for change, but they might have the best option in Jackson right this second.

Jackson likely doesn’t have the offense fully committed to memory at this moment, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t the best option. In his first season at Louisville, Jackson fully admitted that he often times did not know what he was doing out on the field. He would run a play, and if his first option wasn’t available, he would just make something happen by buying time outside the pocket, and extending plays.

But, if you look at the ceiling for Jackson compared to that of Flacco, it makes almost as much sense to play Jackson now and help him work out the kinks throughout the season.

“He’s going to play, he’s going to see the field, and it’s going to be more than just a novelty,” said La Canfora, “it’s clear that the team is grooming him to be the face of the franchise starting in 2019.”

Forget 2019, Jackson is already being thrown around as a possible impact player from day one. In the Raven’s final open practice of OTA’s, instead of giving the ball to Flacco, the long time leader of the franchise, they let Jackson take the reigns with the first team offense. By all accounts, Jackson looked the part.

“You don’t parade (Jackson) out there in front of all the local media in the last time that you are going to see him for the next six weeks, and give him the entire offensive playbook for two hours if this isn’t part of the master plan,” said La Canfora. Clark echoed his sentiments, claiming that he was a fan of starting Jackson day one to give the Ravens the best chance of success in the future.

“Once he gets out of the pocket, it’s like watching a young Michael Vick. It’s amazing to watch,” said Veteran Raven’s linebacker CJ Mosely. “When you’re defending him, you just have to act like you’re tagging off — you don’t want to be on the highlight reel.”

Next: Three Keys to Louisville's Defense in 2018

Mosely is hardly the first to drool over Jackson’s play making abilities, and he won’t be the last defender to be embarrassed this season. If the Ravens want their best chance to succeed right away, Jackson is the answer. People are starting to figure that out pretty quickly.

Once everything around him slows down, don’t be surprised if Jackson is behind center for the Ravens in week 1.