Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has earned plenty of accolades in just four seasons since being drafted 32nd overall in 2018. The 25-year-old is a two-time Pro Bowler and earned NFL MVP and first-team All-Pro honors in 2019.
As such, Jackson is one of the most discussed players in the league among fans and media, but NFL analytics expert Warren Sharp says context is lacking at times.
“Nationwide, there’s people that obviously don’t like Lamar Jackson,” Sharp said on Glenn Clark Radio July 28. “Some of the guys don’t feel like he was getting it done in the postseason and so that’s the reason to write him off, but the reality is that Lamar Jackson has not been given the benefit of the doubt even by his team to give him the players that he needs to excel passing the football.”
Sharp argues that Ravens management has not helped Jackson enough with respect to the weapons the quarterback has around him. Following the trade of Joe Flacco to the Denver Broncos in March 2019, which signaled the starting quarterback job going to Jackson for good, Baltimore has signed the following veteran wide receivers: Seth Roberts, Dez Bryant and Sammy Watkins.
Roberts was signed to a one-year, $2 million deal and notched 271 receiving yards in 2019. Bryant was signed in the middle of the 2020 season and notched 47 yards that season. Watkins signed to a one-year, $6 million deal and notched 394 yards in 2021. None of them lasted more than a season in Charm City.
“Bottom-10 wide receiving corps dollars in terms of what they’ve been providing to him, and this year they rank dead last in that metric in terms of wide receiving dollars,” Sharp said. “… To do that consistently for every single season that the guy’s been the quarterback shows that you’re not prioritizing that position whatsoever.”
Four receivers drafted since Jackson became the full-time starter remain in purple and black today: Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, James Proche and Tylan Wallace. Former draft picks Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin both moved on this offseason.
In 2020, Duvernay was drafted 92nd overall and Proche 201st overall. The two have combined for 689 yards as Ravens. In 2021, Bateman was drafted 27th overall and Wallace was drafted 131st overall. Bateman totaled 515 yards in an injury-riddled rookie season, while Wallace caught just two passes.
“Giving quarterback support with wide receivers is pivotal in terms of their development and seeing what type of upside they can reach,” Sharp said. “My biggest fear with the Ravens and Lamar Jackson … is that they blew their chance at giving him good wide receivers when he was on his rookie deal and he was really cheap, and now we’re not going to see that.”
Josh Allen and Joe Burrow both made huge leaps in recent years, but a big part of that improvement has to do with the weapons on the outside in Buffalo and Cincinnati.
The Bills traded for Stefon Diggs prior to the 2020 season. Allen responded with career bests in completion percentage, yards and touchdowns.
The Bengals drafted Ja’Marr Chase fifth overall in 2021, adding to a receiver room of Tee Higgins (second-round selection in 2020) and Tyler Boyd (two 1,000-yard seasons). Burrow responded with a league-leading 70.4% completion percentage, 34 touchdowns and a Super Bowl appearance.
“A lot of the other young quarterbacks that were on their rookie deals that were drafted in the first round … Year 1, they don’t have those wide receiver assets on the roster, but by Year 2 and Year 3, those teams are funneling a ton of money toward that wide receiver position,” Sharp said.
For more from Sharp, listen to the full interview here:
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