Three Predictions for Lamar Jackson’s NFL Debut

The greatest player in Louisville football history, Lamar Jackson, will make his NFL debut tonight for the Baltimore Ravens. What should we expect?

It’s been four months since Lamar Jackson was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens with the 32nd pick of the first round in the 2018 NFL Draft, and seven months since he played his last down of live football for Louisville. But tonight, the former Heisman Trophy winner will at last make his NFL Debut as the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears face off in the annual NFL Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio.

Even with it being preseason, there hasn’t been this much hype surrounding a rookie QB, at least in these parts of town, in quite some time. Though he was selected with the last pick in the first round, a spot which normally wouldn’t warrant a lot of national hype, NFL fans, and media have become enamored with Jackson, one of the most polarizing collegiate athletes in the last decade.

No more talk about whether the move to not hire an agent was hurtful to his draft stock, or if Jackson should play wide receiver instead of quarterback. Tonight, Lamar Jackson will finally get his chance to show what he can do at the NFL level in front of a national TV audience.

The Hall of Fame game annually is the first NFL action of the year, which means hungry fans flock to their television screens to see big names play, even if it’s just for a series or two.

Fans must remember that no matter what happens tonight, good or bad, it means nothing. The score is kept, but the W or L doesn’t count and the teams will go right back to work tomorrow getting ready for the true beginning of preseason next weekend and of course week 1 of the NFL season.

Here are three predictions for Lamar Jackson’s pro debut.

Jackson gets at least two quarters of playing time

Aside from Ravens and Bears fans, there isn’t a luckier fan base in the country today than the Louisville Cardinals. Why’s that you ask? Well, tonight when the field is littered with a bunch of players you’ve never heard of, the one calling the shots for the majority of the game will be Lamar Jackson.

It’s reported that even though Jackson won’t start tonight, he will get a significant amount of playing time. Jackson, Josh Woodrum, and another former Heisman Trophy winner, Robert Griffin III, will likely split snaps for the Ravens, as Joe Flacco is not expected to play. RG3 probably will get the start while Jackson will relieve him somewhere in the middle of the second quarter, playing until the end of the third or even into the fourth, with Woodrum finishing the game.

Most years during the Canton Hall of Fame game, the backup quarterback on average plays about a quarter and a half to two full quarters, which is great news for Jackson. This will give him the opportunity to get adjusted to the speed of the NFL (something he should have no problems doing) adjust to calling plays in the huddle, and of course making the proper reads and throws without worrying about making mistakes. Mess ups will no doubt come, whether it’s tonight or one of the other four games the Ravens play this preseason, but they have no affect on Jackson’s future as a QB.

Jackson will struggle with calling plays in the huddle

Lamar Jackson has achieved a lot, and I mean a lot, during his time as a Louisville Cardinal. However, one thing he’s rarely done before he will have to do tonight.. Call plays inside the huddle.

I’m not a football expert, nor do I know the inner workings of the Louisville offense and how play calling works. But what I do know is that it was easy to tell watching games that plays were called in from the sideline, something that is fairly commonplace in college football. After each play Jackson and the entire offense would look over to the sideline, get the play call from the staff and go about their business.

Tonight Ravens Offensive Coordinator, Marty Mornhinweg, will tell Jackson the play, which he will then have to relay that information in the huddle to the rest of the team. That can be a big struggle for rookies, as offensive terminology at the NFL is like speaking another language. Though Jackson has had multiple weeks (and months really) of practice, there’s nothing quite like a live game. Jackson told the media yesterday,

"“I stand in the mirror, look at the plays and try to say them to myself to get ready for the next day.”"

The preseason is to practice and for errors to really not matter, so tonight if you see the Ravens struggle with communication issues, or the wrong play being ran don’t be surprised. It doesn’t mean Jackson can’t do it, or won’t make it, it simply means more time and practice/repetition is needed.

Jackson finishes with 150 yards passing, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception in the most watched Hall of Fame game in NFL history

I think tomorrow morning the nation is abuzz talking about Lamar Jackson’s debut performance. Again, keep in mind that the first game literally means nothing but with fans and of course the media being without anything to talk about for the past six months, they will literally take anything and run with it. Jackson will probably rip off one to two big runs (if not more) and provide an electricity to the game that the NFL hasn’t had in quite some time.

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I really think Lamar balls out tonight, for what reason I don’t know other than the fact that he’s Lamar Jackson and that’s just what he does. Jackson will struggle with play calling at times, and you’ll see some bad passes, maybe even a few that should’ve been picked off that weren’t. But at the end of the night, I believe Jackson gets into the end zone twice for the Ravens, one with his legs and once with his arm.

When Jackson gets in to this game, and throughout the time he plays, he will likely be going up against a mix of draft picks, veterans looking for a shot to make the team, and undrafted free agents. That means Jackson should be right at home. Though these are no scrubs, Jackson should be the most talented player on the field.. by far. 

No matter the results tonight, Ravens and Louisville fans must remember that this is essentially a “redshirt” year for Lamar Jackson. When Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens General Manager, selected Jackson with the 32nd pick to be the team’s “Quarterback of the future,” emphasis on the word future. Though Flacco has struggled in recent years, he is a former Super Bowl winner who was at one time considered to be “elite,” and is still the starting QB in Baltimore. Jackson is not ready to be a starting quarterback, at least from what we’ve seen through training camp, and what we know about his time at Louisville.

No one should get too high or too low on the performance of Lamar Jackson as the preseason is meaningless. While celebrating or questioning the performance of Jackson is perfectly okay, Hall of Famers and superstars aren’t developed overnight. These things take time, and that is exactly what Jackson needs at this point.

No doubt, it will be incredible to finally see my favorite player, and probably your favorite player, back on the football field, doing what he does best, electrifying fans and juking defenses.

Cheers to football being back!