Written by Tyler Pastorius
Trade alert! The Baltimore Ravens send the 52nd, 125th pick, along with a second rounder in the 2019 draft to the defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles to receive the 32nd and 132nd pick in this years draft. The Ravens pulled the trigger to grab the 6’2”, 216 mobile quarterback – Lamar Jackson from Louisville with the last pick in the first round. During his 2016 campaign, Lamar was a Heisman winner along with the ACC player of year.
Going to Baltimore shows some of the overhaul and change the Ravens are looking at committing to. With Joe Flacco at the head of the table (and even with recent free agent pickup, Robert Griffin III), drafting Lamar Jackson means the young twenty-one year old quarterback will spend some time under the wing of Flacco. This will help develop his touch and accuracy when really trying to get underneath ball. Jackson already has the speed and scrambling ability to make some defensive pressure to miss but delivering the ball in the bread basket of the receiver will be important especially when some bad blood games come into play like against division rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But don’t let the depth chart or some of the accuracy/the ability to deliver on a deep ball fool you, Jackson can straight out play and was an elite playmaker in the collegiate level. He has the experience under center to know when to take a sack rather than throw the ball into coverage ultimately forcing a turnover. Having a young playmaker with some knowledge will be key and are great building blocks to build into an even better player. He has the power in his arm; he just needs a few tips and tricks from Flacco to turn into something great for Baltimore.
Leading up to the draft at the combine, scouts were looking at Jackson as a receiver but he declined to workout at the position. Hopefully, the decision pans out for him as he moves to an offense that is catered to a quarterback with a completely different play style.
The Ravens already picked up Hayden Hurst (tight end from South Carolina) with their first pick at pick twenty-five. Let’s see how the rest of draft pans out for Baltimore with two third rounder’s, along with the fourth, sixth, and seventh round picks. It will be interesting to see if they decide to add a few more offensive weapons possibly.
