The Baltimore Ravens had their very first full-team practice of training camp. The Ravens have plenty of questions that will need answers before the regular season begins, and one stands out above the rest.
All eyes are on quarterback Lamar Jackson this year. He took over for an injured Joe Flacco last season and never let go of the starting job. While he was dynamic and made plays with his legs, he was far from consistent as a passer. Entering his second season in the league, fans and analysts are watching Jackson closely to see if he can fix his mechanics and become a more consistent and accurate quarterback.
In his first practice of training camp, it was an up-and-down day that had some highlights. Jackson hit on a few throws, including this bomb to wide receiver Willie Snead.
Jackson also floated in this beautiful pass to tight end Mark Andrews.
Rookie wide receiver Miles Boykin showed up in a big way, including catching a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jackson.
But Jackson was also just off. His deep passes were noted to not be very tight spirals, which caused them to float.
It took Jackson a while to get warmed up and in a groove, but he would still throw an interception on a pass intended for wide receiver Seth Roberts.
While it’s nice that Jackson eventually settled down and began having a better practice, his accuracy still seems to be a big issue, especially on deeper passes. Though Baltimore’s offense will likely feature plenty of short throws, they have a lot of deep speed they’ll need to take advantage of in order to create big plays. If Jackson’s deep accuracy can’t be fine-tuned, that’ll make the Ravens offense far more predictable, especially considering they’re expected to be a run-first scheme.
But it’s only the first practice of training camp. We’ll see if Jackson can steadily improve like he did this time last year.
