Sammy Watkins: Lamar Jackson Can Be Elite QB If Ravens WRs Get Open

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Sammy Watkins believes the onus is on him and his fellow wideouts to help lift Lamar Jackson up in 2021.

Watkins explained to reporters Monday how quarterbacks need support in the passing game and that Jackson can "be elite in this game" with more help from his receivers:

"It takes guys getting open to be great and look great and be the Patrick Mahomes of the world and be Tom Brady. You got to have that No. 1 receiver or that No. 2 or that No. 3 nowadays to go out there and be successful and literally throw the ball with your eyes closed and be unconscious. If I can go out there and be healthy and the other wideouts can make plays ... we can be a balanced offense. [If] we get open when we need to get open, I think Lamar can throw for those 4,000 yards or those 4,500 yards [or] 5,000 [yards] -- whatever these guys are putting up. I think he can be that quarterback and be elite in this game."

Because he's such an electric runner, the Ravens don't need Jackson to be in the Mahomes mold where he's throwing for 5,000 yards every year.

Still, his step backward as a passer in 2020 was somewhat concerning. His completion percentage (64.4), yards per game (183.8) and QBR (73.7) were all down compared to his MVP season in 2019.

Baltimore's receiver situation probably had something to do with that.

Marquise Brown has been solid through his first two seasons (104 receptions, 1,353 yards, 15 touchdowns) but hasn't produced like a No. 1 pass-catcher. Per Stathead, the 2019 first-round pick is also 59th in catch percentage (60.8) among the 80 wideouts with at least 100 targets over the past two seasons.

Beyond Brown and Mark Andrews, who's one of the NFL's better tight ends, the Ravens' depth in the passing game falls off noticeably.

Signing Watkins will help but doesn't single-handedly resolve the problem. And figuring out the answer could be easier said than done.

ESPN's Jamison Hensley questioned whether marquee free agents JuJu Smith-Schuster and T.Y. Hilton were turned off by Baltimore's more run-centric attack. Hensley also noted Torrey Smith is the only Ravens receiver drafted by the Ravens who hit 1,000 yards in a season, so the 2021 NFL draft may not be the most straightforward solution, either.

Jackson's mobility allows head coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman to experiment in ways that aren't available to most teams. But Jackson can only do so much on his own.

Absent the arrival of another notable pass-catcher, the pressure will be on Watkins and incumbents Brown, Miles Boykin and Devin Duvernay to step up.