Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has turned into one of the NFL's best intermediate passers
Lamar Jackson is well-known for his elite and dynamic rushing ability, but it is time to acknowledge his growth as a passer. The Baltimore Ravens star quarterback is the leading and betting odds favorite to win this year's MVP award. Jackson has led the Ravens to the NFL's best record and the AFC's No. 1 […]
Lamar Jackson is well-known for his elite and dynamic rushing ability, but it is time to acknowledge his growth as a passer.
The Baltimore Ravens star quarterback is the leading and betting odds favorite to win this year's MVP award. Jackson has led the Ravens to the NFL's best record and the AFC's No. 1 seed.
This season, Jackson has completed a career-high 67% of his passes. In addition to throwing for a career-high 3,678 yards with 24 passing touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Jackson is having a strong, MVP-caliber season despite missing his star tight end Mark Andrews for the past six games. His growth as a passer should be more appreciated than it currently is, especially when it comes to his improvement in a specific area of the field.
Dominating the intermediate
Lamar Jackson has evolved into a strong passer to pair with his rushing ability. Even as an NFL draft prospect, Jackson excelled more in the short to intermediate areas of the field compared to throwing deep.
Since entering the league, he has thrived in the intermediate portion of the field (10-19 air yards). According to NFL NexGen Stats, Jackson ranks as the 5th best quarterback throwing intermediate touchdowns in the league.
He has 47 intermediate touchdown passes since 2018. This season when targeting the intermediate parts of the field, Jackson is 72 of 100 for 72% completion, 1,153 yards, 11 touchdowns, and zero interceptions, which is the best single-season performance in these stats since 2016.
Lamar Jackson is consistently defeating narratives and witnessing his growth from a run-first quarterback to a complete passer has been fun. Jackson has trust in his offensive line and receiving options.
Adding new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, as a result, we have seen the best and most complete version of Lamar Jackson. His ceiling as a player was always untapped because of his potential as a pocket passer.
Over the last five games, Jackson has thrown for 1,237 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Baltimore Ravens are benefiting from the much improved passing version of Lamar Jackson. They will need him this weekend to knock off a scorching-hot Houston Texans team coming off a wildcard playoff victory versus the Cleveland Browns.
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