How will Lamar Jackson influence the Ravens’ draft?
ORLANDO, Fla. — Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is more than the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player. He is also a part-time scout.
At the NFL’s annual meetings last week, Harbaugh indicated that Jackson has been sharing his thoughts on college prospects at wide receiver and tight end.
“He is looking at guys now,” Harbaugh said. “He and I agree on a few guys. We haven’t disagreed on anybody yet. We’re sharing our vision together.”
This would mark the second straight year that Jackson has weighed in on draft prospects. After the 2022 season, Jackson gave Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta a list of every receiver in the draft from South Florida, including a full breakdown of each one.
Baltimore ended up taking wide receiver Zay Flowers, who grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with the No. 22 pick last year.
“He has strong opinions on all these guys, too,” DeCosta said last year. “He’s very loyal to the players from that part of the country and so he has a lot of opinions on Zay. He was very, very excited that we got him.”
The Ravens, who have the No. 30 pick, have a need at wide receiver again. Baltimore cut Odell Beckham Jr. and lost Devin Duvernay in free agency. Nelson Agholor returns on a one-year extension and Rashod Bateman is entering the last year of his rookie contract, though the team can pick up his fifth-year option.
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It’s more likely that the Ravens will take an offensive lineman or edge rusher in the first round, but some mock drafts have linked Baltimore to wide receivers like Texas’ Xavier Worthy, Florida State’s Keon Coleman and Georgia’s Ladd McConkey. The Ravens have drafted 33 wide receivers in their 28-year history, including seven over the past six years.
“That’s a position where some of these guys are like race cars; they break down at times,” DeCosta said at the NFL combine in February. “And so, having depth at that position is critical, [and] we saw that this year. We think we built the room out pretty well this year and were able to sustain some injuries along the way. So, we will look at that. I think it’s a very, very deep year in the draft. This draft class is pretty impressive from a receiver standpoint.”
The rest of the offense will undergo more change. Baltimore signed running back Derrick Henry in free agency and needs to replace three starters on the offensive line (guards Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson as well as tackle Morgan Moses).
“It’ll look different, there’s no doubt about that,” Harbaugh said. “That’s the one thing we believe in — keeping it moving. You can never keep it the same.”
Harbaugh reiterated that Jackson will be heavily involved in the Ravens’ offense, which enters its second year under coordinator Todd Monken. Jackson shared his ideas schematically and personnel-wise with the coaches before leaving for the offseason.
“He’ll come back, and he’ll look at everything, and we’ll want to know what he thinks,” Harbaugh said. “Like, ‘Do you prefer this or this? Are you comfortable in this direction or that direction? What do you like? [Are there] any other ideas you had since we talked last?’ I believe he’ll be a big part of the architecture of the offense.”