Lamar Jackson Eager To See Young Ravens With The Pads On This Week

The MVP QB cautioned it's too soon to make too much of what the Ravens host of rookie pass catchers have done in camp

Jul 30, 2026; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) during practice at Under Armour Peformance Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It’s easy to get caught up in hype around NFL training camps. Especially this early on.

We’re heard a fair amount of it in Baltimore already, and understandably so, given how poorly last season went and with a head coach who had been here nearly 20 years now gone and incredibly youthful men taking over to replace and with the offense, in particular, a blank slate with 30-year-old coordinator Declan Doyle having never called a play before.

And we’ve heard two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and Pro Bowl receiver Zay Flowers gush about his offense and call him a “genius” in passing and rave about how explosive this is all going to be. But Jackson also knows how inexperienced this entire cast is around him – coaches and players – and the Ravens haven’t even put the pads on yet to face their daunting defense in a more formal setting.

On Saturday, after a practice at the University of Maryland where Jackson, frankly, didn’t do a whole lot and key veterans like left tackle Ronnie Stanley and running back Derrick Henry didn’t do anything at all, Jackson pumped the breaks a little on the praise being heaped on players who are catching balls against air in not-very-competitive environments yet with no fear of getting hit. So when he was asked about third-round receiver Ja’Kobi Lane, Jackson reeled things in a little bit.

“I like to evaluate my players when the pads get on, when we are playing in games,” Jackson cautioned. “Practice – anybody can look good in practice, but I feel like he will be looking good in games as well."

We know that Flowers and Jackson have a unique chemistry. We know he and tight end Mark Andrews had a special bond early in his career but Andrews is not the same player he once was athletically and isn’t winning downfield anymore. Rashod Bateman had a great 2024 and the rest of his career has been an enigmatic underachiever, often injured, who has rarely seemed to see the game the same way Jackson does.

Everything else is a lark. Rookies or second year players or third year players with no NFL pedigree. Jackson has a pretty simply message for them.

“I tell them, 'Lock in,’” Jackson explained. “You're in the NFL now. We're not in college anymore – it's next man up mentality."

Jackson Is Learning Too

Of course, this offense is totally new to Jackson as well. We know from talking at length to Doyle’s mentor, Broncos coach Sean Payton, how vital the ability to run and pass and exploit play action under center is to the entire operation. We know that Doyle wants to ramp up the ability to go a faster pace then “throttle down” when need be as well, as he described it. Rams coach Sean McVay, whom Doyle is also borrowing from, expects Doyle to lean into motion in order to exploit all quadrants of the field.

The under center revolution is coming to the NFL as a counter to a decade where the shotgun took over as the staple formation in most offenses. Payton and McVay have always been fully vested in under center and it was the look the Bears, where Doyle worked under head coach Ben Johnson last year, had young quarterback Cale Williams under center more than every QB in the NFL save for Matthew Stafford with McVay.

Ravens All Pro safety Kyle Hamilton pointed out how comfortable and at ease from a hand-off and footwork standpoint Jackson appeared when asked generally about him last week. Jackson is enjoying the shift, understanding how much more easily he can manipulate the defense and buy time for his receivers downfield and create explosive plays running the offense under center.

"I am extremely comfortable with it,” Jackson said. “In youth football I was under center – I haven't been consistently under center since youth football. We did it here and there in the past, but with this balanced type of offense, I feel like it will help us out a lot – identifying the defense, really keeping the defense on their toes."

We’ll get a much better feel for all of the above as the Ravens go far more full throttle at practice and start creeping toward the pre-season debut. We wont see many veterans in that game, and some concepts will be obscured, but it’ll be a prime opportunity for guys like Lane to start moving around the depth chart and for Doye to figure out if he’s calling plays from the pressbox or sideline.

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