It’s becoming more apparent that Lamar Jackson will get on the field sooner rather than later. At their current workouts, the Ravens have him lining up with Joe Flacco in formations with two quarterbacks.
"Gosh, I sure like him out there helping us," says John Harbaugh in an ESPN article. "If you put two quarterbacks on the field at once, what options does it create for our offense? That's what we're trying to figure out."
I’m leery of formations that include both Jackson and Flacco. How would such a formation be better than simply subbing in Jackson for a few plays? Flacco is an immobile pocket passer so how is it supposed to scare defenses when he splits out as a wide receiver. If I were a cornerback, I would be far more concerned if Michael Crabtree or John Brown was lined up on the other side.
But there’s definitely been an on-going love with Jackson. He’s got elite speed, and that’s caused problems for Baltimore’s defenders in drills. My hunch is he’ll be Baltimore’s starting quarterback in the second half of the season. Maybe sooner.
"Once he gets out of the pocket, it’s like watching a young Michael Vick," says C.J. Mosley in another article written by Jamison Hensley. "It’s amazing to watch.”
History has shown us that when a young quarterback takes the league by storm – Vince Young, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton – there’s usually a running dimension involved. And Jackson in college put up some pretty slick running numbers.
Among quarterbacks selected in the first and second rounds, 29 times in the last 20 years we’ve seen quarterbacks ran for over 500 yards in a college season. Jackson is the only one in that group who’s run for over 1,500 yards, and he’s done it twice.
COLLEGE QUARTERBACKS / RUSHING STATS | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
2016 | Lamar Jackson | 232 | 1,601 | 6.90 | 18 |
2017 | Lamar Jackson | 260 | 1,571 | 6.04 | 21 |
2010 | Cam Newton | 264 | 1,473 | 5.58 | 20 |
2012 | Johnny Manziel | 201 | 1,410 | 7.01 | 21 |
2010 | Colin Kaepernick | 173 | 1,206 | 6.97 | 20 |
2009 | Colin Kaepernick | 161 | 1,183 | 7.35 | 16 |
2008 | Colin Kaepernick | 161 | 1,130 | 7.02 | 17 |
2015 | Deshaun Watson | 207 | 1,105 | 5.34 | 12 |
2004 | Vince Young | 167 | 1,079 | 6.46 | 14 |
2005 | Vince Young | 155 | 1,050 | 6.77 | 12 |
2003 | Vince Young | 135 | 998 | 7.39 | 11 |
2007 | Jake Locker | 172 | 986 | 5.73 | 13 |
2015 | Lamar Jackson | 163 | 960 | 5.89 | 11 |
2009 | Tim Tebow | 217 | 910 | 4.19 | 14 |
2007 | Tim Tebow | 210 | 895 | 4.26 | 23 |
2008 | Robert Griffin III | 173 | 843 | 4.87 | 13 |
2014 | Marcus Mariota | 135 | 770 | 5.70 | 15 |
2013 | Johnny Manziel | 144 | 759 | 5.27 | 9 |
2012 | Marcus Mariota | 106 | 752 | 7.09 | 5 |
2013 | Marcus Mariota | 96 | 715 | 7.45 | 9 |
2011 | Robert Griffin III | 179 | 699 | 3.91 | 10 |
1999 | Michael Vick | 131 | 682 | 5.21 | 9 |
2008 | Tim Tebow | 176 | 673 | 3.82 | 12 |
2014 | Carson Wentz | 138 | 642 | 4.65 | 6 |
2010 | Robert Griffin III | 149 | 635 | 4.26 | 8 |
2004 | Alex Smith | 135 | 631 | 4.67 | 10 |
2016 | Deshaun Watson | 165 | 629 | 3.81 | 9 |
2000 | Michael Vick | 104 | 617 | 5.93 | 8 |
2007 | Colin Kaepernick | 105 | 593 | 5.65 | 6 |
—Ian Allan