Ravens Duo Has 'Lethal Upside' In Monken Offense
The Baltimore Ravens are one of the most intriguing teams entering the new season, and that is due to the offensive changes being implemented by new coordinator Todd Monken.
With Greg Roman out, Monken and his vertical-styl offense now taking over, the Ravens have an abundance of weapons that give opposing defenses serious headaches.
But for the Ravens to get to where they want to go, health becomes a big factor, and ESPN's Mike Clay thinks that if Baltimore is to unseat the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC North, the duo of Lamar Jackson and Odell Beckham Jr. are crucial.
"If Baltimore is going to overtake the Bengals in the AFC North (and perhaps the Chiefs in the AFC), it's going to require healthy seasons from Jackson (five games missed each of the past two seasons) and the 30-year-old Beckham (one full season since 2017 and was out all of 2022)," Clay wrote. "That might be a tall order, but this duo has lethal upside in a new-look offense under coordinator Todd Monken."
Clutchpoints
Jackson last season finished with 2,242 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions from his 12 games. Had he played the entire regular season, he was on track to throw for the most yards in his career (3,176).
It is still hard to fathom that a player of Lamar's caliber hasn't thrown for over 3,200 yards in a season. But this year could be the year where he does...and Beckham Jr. might have a big role to play.
It's been well-documented that Beckham Jr. hasn't had a 1,000-yard receiving season since 2019, and while that might be a bridge too far this season, he is more than capable of being a consistent contributor to Monken's offense.
We only have to look back at the Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl win, a game that, until Odell blew out his knee, he had two hands on the MVP trophy.
If Beckham Jr. can get some way back to that kind of production, then who knows what the ceiling is for this Baltimore offense.
With Monken dialing up the plays and Jackson being given more control than ever, maybe, just maybe, we are about to see the best season out of Lamar and a timely reminder that Beckham Jr. is still the Pro Bowl-caliber player who all know him to be.
