Before the draft, the NFL’s media company pushed this opinion from an unnamed offensive coordinator regarding quarterback Lamar Jackson: “He will not be able to play [quarterback] in this league -- mark my words. When he throws, he hopes.”
Yes, mark the words of someone whose provided the words under the cover of anonymity, so it’s impossible to ever tell that person, “Your words were the wrong words.”
One guy who may already be ready to unmark the words of the unnamed assistant coach is Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who praised Jackson’s throwing skills nine days after making him a first-round draft pick.
“The thing that I was really impressed with is I thought he was accurate,” Harbaugh told reporters on Saturday. “You read the reports and stuff like that but he’s a naturally talented thrower. He’s got natural arm talent. And that’s something that I think people were questioning. So to see him out here throwing the ball naturally and very accurately I thought was a big plus.”
Of course, throwing at practice is one thing. Throwing during a game is quite another. Eventually, Jackson will get a chance to do that. The question is whether he’ll do it well enough to get the Ravens to move on from the first-round quarterback the Ravens drafted 10 years ago.