Ravens OC Marty Mornhinweg Calls Lamar Jackson 'Way Ahead of the Curve'
July 23, 2018
Baltimore Ravens rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson is already making an impression heading into the 2018 campaign.
"He’s done an outstanding job up to date," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN. "He's way ahead of the curve now."
Hensley also noted Mornhinweg said Jackson has continued to show improvement in large part because of his hard work.
Don't read too much into Mornhinweg's comments in terms of a potential controversy, though, as Hensley pointed out there is a "well-defined" quarterback depth chart in the early portion of training camp with Joe Flacco still comfortably ahead as the starter. However, he listed Jackson as the second-stringer ahead of Robert Griffin III and Josh Woodrum.
Mornhinweg also had praise for Flacco through the first three days of camp:
Jamison Hensley @jamisonhensleyPerhaps biggest difference in training camp: Last year, Joe Flacco was sidelined with back injury. On Sunday, he showed his athleticism on run-pass option and sprinted 20 yards. "It looks like he’s moving and grooving better than he has in several years," OC Marty Mornhinweg said
The 33-year-old Flacco is still the present under center for the Ravens, but Jackson represents the future at 21 years old. That is especially the case after Baltimore invested a first-round pick in him in the 2018 draft after a dazzling career at the University of Louisville.
Jackson won the 2016 Heisman Trophy and back-to-back ACC Player of the Year awards in his final two collegiate seasons. He threw for 3,660 yards, ran for 1,601 yards and accounted for 45 total touchdowns during the 2017 campaign, demonstrating an impressive ability to hurt opposing defenses with his arm and legs.
He is still behind Flacco on the depth chart for now and likely will be at the start of the season given the "well-defined" qualifier, but Jackson is already turning heads in his first NFL training camp.