The Ravens have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, but they haven’t given Lamar Jackson the weapons he needs to maximize his talent.
Ravens fans are understandably hesitant to criticize a front office that has amassed one of the most talented rosters in the NFL. That doesn’t mean Eric DeCosta and his staff are perfect. The team’s front office needs to accept blame for failing to surround Lamar Jackson with the right kind of offensive weapons to perfectly complement his skill set.
There’s no denying the reality that Jackson’s play in 2020 is a clear regression from his MVP season in 2019. Plenty of that blame should be laid at the quarterback’s feet. He simply hasn’t played his best football this season. He’s missed open wide receivers far too frequently.
Completing a shade over 60 percent of his passes in this offense isn’t good enough for a player of Jackson’s caliber. Nothing about this piece is designed to exonerate Jackson from his own shortcomings.
Instead, the point here is that Jackson doesn’t deserve all the blame. He is a unique player that requires a certain kind of surrounding talent to operate at maximum efficiency. The Ravens front office has failed to realize that obvious reality. Their offense is now suffering from the team’s overreliance on Jackson’s playmaking ability to cover up the flaws of his offensive teammates.
This doesn’t mean the Ravens don’t have talented playmakers
The issue here is fit. There’s a cogent argument to be made that Baltimore has above average talent at their offensive skill positions. The group isn’t chocked full of All-Pros, but there are plenty of guys who deservedly have a ton of value throughout the league.
At running back, Mark Ingram has been very productive as Jackson’s running mate in the backfield. He helps makes the Ravens’ ground game unstoppable at times.
What Ingram doesn’t do is really help Jackson in the passing game. He’s only caught three passes in six games this season. Ironically, that’s precisely the reason why New Orleans let him leave. Jackson’s passing numbers would skyrocket if he was armed with someone like Alvin Kamara to leverage in the flat.
Asking Baltimore to find a player of Kamara’s caliber is unreasonable. Expecting them to acquire a running back capable of giving Jackson more support as a pass-catcher is not.
In fairness to the Ravens, J.K. Dobbins should grow into a helpful pass receiver out of the backfield in time. At the very least, Baltimore should accelerate the process of making their running back rotation more of a timeshare to allow Dobbins to give his quarterback some more help.
Wide receiver is the real problem area
Running backs aren’t moving the needle for Jackson in the throw game, but that’s not their primary responsibility. A detailed look at Baltimore’s wide receiver room sheds significant light on what’s troubling the talented quarterback.
Marquise Brown is carping about his lack of targets but he isn’t the type of receiver that’s ever going to lead the NFL in catches. He’s still a relatively raw route-runner. At the moment, Brown is a big-play threat who can keep opposing defenses honest with his speed. He is not a bona fide No. 1 wideout by any stretch of the imagination.
His inadequacies in that department might be acceptable if Baltimore had above-average possession receivers elsewhere in their wide receiver room. Both Willie Snead and Miles Boykin deserve criticism for failing to develop into quality starters at the other receiver spot. They have both flashed big-play ability during their respective careers, but neither has blossomed into a legitimate No. 2. That leaves Jackson without anything more than an average option at both of his starting wide receiver spots.
This is another spot where the Ravens front office would argue that help is on the way. Perhaps Devin Duvernay or James Proche will grow into above-average starters as they start to mature as professionals. Gambling on that kind of outcome with an MVP quarterback is not adequate roster management by Baltimore’s front office.
So what can the Ravens do?
Baltimore should have been in the market for an upgrade at wide receiver ahead of the trade deadline. It’s possible they found the price for a meaningful upgrade too much to pay. No matter what, it now seems obvious that Jackson will be saddled with mediocre receivers for the remainder of the 2020 campaign.
The only real option available to Baltimore to upgrade their offense this season is to place more emphasis on their run game. The organization was smart to go into this season with a goal of limiting the hits Jackson would be required to take turning the regular season.
The time is fast approaching for Baltimore to abandon that noble goal. The Ravens need to start rounding their game into form as the postseason approaches. Look for Jackson to get more and more opportunities to make perimeter runs as the season rolls along.
Roster changes are required in the offseason
The Ravens can realistically hope for some internal roster improvement to help Jackson out in future seasons. There isn’t enough upside on the current roster to justify standing pat though.
Instead, it’s time for Baltimore to add a legitimate star wide receiver next offseason. Consider what the Bills did by adding Stefon Diggs as a blueprint for the Ravens. Perhaps they could even use Minnesota as the trade partner if Adam Thielen does become available in trade talks after the 2020 season’s conclusion.
No matter what, Baltimore needs to make a bold move to capitalize on Jackson’s immense talent. They’ve done a good job developing him to date, but they can’t afford to rest on their laurels. The NFL future favors the bold and the Ravens must embody that philosophy with their wide receiver moves in the very near future.