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You might want to curb your enthusiasm about this . . .
This story got a lot of play last week.
Comedian Larry David, a big Jets fan, said on 98.7 ESPN Radio in New York, “I did call Mike Maccagnan before the 2018 and I recommend that he draft Lamar Jackson. I have a witness. I have a witness.”
I know he’s a comic, but he brings up a conversation worth having.
Should the Jets have considered taking Jackson, along with Cleveland, Buffalo and Arizona for that matter, in the top 10 of the 2018 draft?
The Browns picked Baker Mayfield first overall, while the Jets grabbed Sam Darnold at 3, Buffalo selected Allen at 7 and Arizona added Rosen at 10.
Obviously, up to this point, Jackson, picked with the last selection of the first round by Baltimore, has outperformed Mayfield, Darnold, Allen and Rosen (now with Miami).
But like they say, “Hindsight is 20/20.”
Who saw this coming?
And were the Ravens truly sold on the prospect? If they loved him so much, why did they pick South Carolina tight end Hayden Hurst at 25, and had to trade into the first round, and acquire pick 32, to select Jackson?
If they knew Jackson was going to be this good, why would they pick a tight end ahead of him? You can find tight ends. One of the NFL’s best tight ends, San Francisco’s George Kittle, was picked in the fifth-round. Franchise quarterbacks are much harder to find.
Bill Polian has taken a lot of heat for saying Jackson should move to wide receiver before the 2018 draft, but he wasn’t alone with his concern about the player’s accuracy.
“He’s an awesome athlete. He will not be able to play [quarterback] in this league, mark my words,” one offensive coordinator opined to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. “When he throws, he hopes.”
There were concerns about Jackson and Allen on the accuracy front because both players had low completion percentages in college, and that was a red flag. Why? Because it’s hard for a quarterback who is inaccurate in college to become accurate in the NFL. Many scouts will tell you that’s hard to fix. Christian Hackenberg had this issue and it couldn’t be fixed.
Jackson has done a nice job with the Ravens, but I don’t think he would have had the same level of success with the Jets, and this isn’t a shot at the Jets. It’s more that Baltimore was a perfect storm for Jackson to succeed, and this isn’t taking away from Jackson’s talent.
Think about it. Jackson went to the Ravens where they had offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who was the offensive coordinator for Colin Kaepernick, when he was playing his best football in San Francisco, with a lot effective RPO’s – run pass options. Jackson is really good on run pass options, and he went to play for a coordinator with a proven track record of making RPO’s work on a high level.
Also, throw in the Ravens’ offensive line, which was one of the best in the league this year. It’s pretty well-documented that the Jets line had issues this year. How would Jackson’s RPO’s have worked this year behind the Jets’ front, with their nine different line combinations.
Also, the Ravens’ defense was excellent this year so they didn’t put the young quarterback into a lot of shootouts.
Hey, it’s understandable what David said seeing Jackson’s play the last two seasons, but you probably would not have seen the same QB with the Jets, for a number of reasons.
January 15, 2020
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