How Lamar Jackson and the Ravens plan to take his game to the next level in 2019

Former Louisville Cardinal and current Baltimore Raven Lamar Jackson could take a huge step forward during his sophomore campaign.

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens offense are beginning to take a new form in year one without Marty Mornhinweg.

Coming off of a rookie season where Jackson took over for former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco midseason and never relinquished the position, the Ravens are looking to capitalize on their young star.

Jackson seems ready for the task. With his first NFL offseason under his belt and a new cast of characters around him, now is his time to shine.

A new frame

Jackson built his reputation on being able to make the opposition miss. He has elite-level speed, but that’s not enough to dominate in the NFL. Players need a healthy combination of speed and agility to survive and thrive.

Many questioned if Jackson’s elusiveness would translate to the league, citing that the majority of running quarterbacks before him had tried and failed.

However, Jackson’s deceptiveness is arguably better than anyone we’ve seen since Michael Vick in the mid-2000’s. He more than lived up to his billing in 2018-19, becoming the youngest quarterback to start an NFL playoff game.

In order to keep moving forward, however, Jackson needed to stay a step ahead of the game, and perhaps he has done just that.

Introducing: Lamar Jacked-son.

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The biggest criticism of Jackson after he began to run all over fools in the NFL was that his style of play was not conducive to longevity in the league. The comparison he often draws is to his now-back-up Robert Griffin III, who was the NFL Rookie of the Year in 2013, but has suffered a slew of injuries since. You could also look to Vick, who never played more than one full season in the league.

Jackson is listening and has added what looks like at least 20 pounds to his once-wiry frame. Reports came out of offseason training that Jackson was one of the hardest workers in the weight room, and that is beginning to show. It looks like Lamar Jackson ate Lamar Jackson.

He already had the tremendous arm strength, but now Jackson is going to be able to absorb hits better, and shouldn’t lose a ton of speed this year. Most of his quickness in agility, says Jackson’s mother, came from the hard work that he put in when he was very young. His incredible core strength is what helped him build the quick twitch and athleticism that could help him leave even the most athletic defenders in the dust.

A new and improved supporting cast

There’s a recipe for success that the Ravens are building towards on offense, and as long as Jackson or his back-ups are at the helm, the organization seems to think it could really work.

At quarterback, Baltimore has Jackson and his back-up Griffin, as well as incoming rookie Trace McSorley. All three quarterbacks are similar in that they have solid arms, but where they really thrive is as runners in the open field. No more having two completely different offensive schemes. Every quarterback can step in and fill a specific role.

In the backfield, the Ravens made a huge move in the offseason, picking up stud Mark Ingram from the Saints. Ingram is a bowling ball who is built to withstand 20 touches a game during the season. He is also an excellent dump-down option for Jackson as a catch-and-run back. Ingram has competition though. Gus Edwards is coming off of a rookie year where he averaged 5.2 yards per carry, and Kenneth Dixon should demand some touches as well. All three backs are built from the same cloth: tough, resilient, sneaky speed, and more than adequate every-down backs.

The Ravens return everyone from an offensive line that specializes in run-blocking and made room for 1,607 rushing yards in the last seven games of the season (230 rushing YPG). They will look to continue that trend in a season where their team is built to tote the rock.

What has many excited, however, is the speed that Baltimore has on the outside. While the Ravens stacked up on bulky running backs, they are focused on getting the ball out quick in the passing game.

Baltimore returns an athletic group of tight ends in Mark Andrews, Nick Boyles, and Hayden Hurst. They also bring back Willie Snead, Jordan Lasley, and Chris Moore from a capable wideout unit last season.

The most exciting addition is Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, the Ravens’ first-round pick who should be a difference-maker right away. Brown thrived in a system with a running quarterback for three seasons at Oklahoma with back-to-back Heisman winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Now, he will play his third consecutive season with a Heisman winning quarterback in Jackson, who should use Brown’s electric speed and sure-handedness early and often.

With a slew of new weapons on offense and a defense that is only improving, the Ravens are in win-now mode. And with Lamar Jackson at the helm, it’s almost a certainty that Baltimore will be in contention once again in a brutal AFC North.

For Jackson, having more doubters than supporters is nothing new. He was overlooked out of high school, criticized in college, and doubted during his rookie season in the NFL. The one common denominator in those situations is that Jackson kept his head down and proved the doubters wrong.

Now, with a full season ahead of him as the starter and face of his franchise, Jackson has an opportunity to do what he does best: prove them wrong again.