There isn’t a quarterback in the NFL right now who can do what Lamar Jackson does. His combination of speed and vision as a runner, as well as his accuracy and decision-making as a passer make him one of the most dangerous players in football – regardless of position.
His unique skill set makes him far more difficult to prepare for than a traditional pocket quarterback, which teams have learned all year long. The Rams will do their best to simulate him in practice, but not with Jared Goff or Blake Bortles.
Instead, it’ll be quarterback John Wolford, who’s currently on the practice squad.
“John Wolford’s going to do a great job for us. We’ll see if he found some extra speed this week, too,” McVay said. “You can’t ever really, truly emulate this guy, what he’s done and what they’ve done as a team. As a team, but then when you’re individually talking about their offense and Lamar Jackson, it’s been impressive. It’s fun to watch, it’s exciting, it’s going to be a great challenge and I know our defensive guys are excited about that challenge.”
Wolford is an athletic quarterback, as we saw in the preseason. He’s quicker than fast, though, as he ran a 4.77 40-yard dash at his pro day. His 4.18-second short shuttle time would’ve been the third-best at the combine in 2018, and his 6.78-second three-cone would’ve been the fastest at his position.
Obviously, Jackson is on another level, but Wolford is a better scout team quarterback before facing the Ravens than Andy Dalton is. He has a good combination of mobility and arm strength, as he showed on this play in the preseason.
As McVay said, you can’t truly emulate Jackson in practice, but the Rams are going to do their best with Wolford. Monday night’s matchup will come down to slowing Jackson as a runner because that’s where he and the Ravens offense are most dangerous.
