OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — For all the talk of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson learning new offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s scheme, it’s the different coaching style that has jumped out so far at minicamp.
Monken, hired after guiding Georgia’s offense to back-to-back NCAA titles, has been one of the most consistently loud, instructive voices through the first two days of the mandatory sessions.
It’s even caught Jackson a little by surprise, who only got acquainted with Monken after agreeing to his five-year, $260 million extension in late April.
“When I first signed, when I seen him, I didn’t really think he was that explosive when he was speaking and stuff like that,” Jackson said. “You get him in the meeting room, he’ll have you laughing and stuff. But he’s dead serious about the stuff that he’s saying.”
It’s a bit of practice what you preach for Monken, who has pledged to give Jackson more control in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage than he had with predecessor Greg Roman.
Jackson acknowledged he’s trying to be more vocal, referencing an exchange he had with receiver Nelson Agholor about a route on the first day.
“He’s embraced it,” Monken said of Jackson. “He’s embraced trying to be louder, trying to be in control. He’s embraced learning the system, and we’ve still got a ways to go.”
Over four seasons, Roman led a Ravens offense that was elite on the ground but below average through the air.
Baltimore finished bottom six in the NFL in three of those years in passing yardage, including last in 2020. The Ravens’ passing touchdowns and yards per attempt declined in each subsequent season after Roman’s debut in 2019, from 37 TDs and 7.6 yards per attempt during Jackson’s 2019 NFL MVP season to 19 and 6.6 last year.
Jackson missed five starts each in 2021 and 2022. He was on pace for a career high in passing yards in 2021 before injury setbacks, but also threw a career-worst 13 interceptions.
This is Monken’s third NFL coordinating job after stints with the Buccaneers and the Browns. It’s his first time working directly with Jackson.
“It’s hard (to evaluate) right now, because we’re in the early stages of what we do,” Monken said. “But I’m impressed.
There’s not a throw he can’t make. It’s like any player, when we get to the line of scrimmage, it’s, ‘What are they doing? What does that mean to us? Are our eyes in the right spot? Are we giving ourselves a chance on every single play to be successful?’”
The Ravens also made significant additions at wide receiver this offseason, signing three-time Pro Bowler Odell Backham Jr. and the veteran Agholor, and selecting Zay Flowers 22nd overall in the draft.
That makes five players who were all first-round picks among Jackson’s pass-catching options, likely the most talented receiving group he’s ever had. Now it’s about making good on the potential for improvement.
“I mean, nobody cares about the expectations,” Jackson said. “That’s the guys that have got to get out there and do what they do. The reason they were picked first round is to make those plays and stuff like that. And I believe we’ve got the guys to do it.”
NOTES: Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald said LB Roquan Smith will wear the green dot helmet this season. Smith joined the Ravens in the middle of last season from the Chicago Bears, then signed a five-year extension in January. … RB JK Dobbins (soft tissue injury) missed the second day of minicamp.
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