In recent years, the Baltimore Ravens have decided to carry only two quarterbacks on their roster once the season begins. If that trend continues, then they almost certainly have their pair for this season.
Obviously, Lamar Jackson isn’t going anywhere any time soon. The 28-year-old just had one of the best statitistical seasons ever for a quarterback and likely still has at least another half-decade of elite play ahead of him.
Baltimore also upgraded its depth behind Jackson by signing former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush to be his new backup, so the quarterback room looks to be in pretty good shape.
However, it’s not entirely out of the question that the Ravens take a flyer on a quarterback at next week’s NFL Draft, either as a late Day 3 pick or an undrafted free agent. On that note, ESPN’s Jordan Reid believes Baltimore to be the best fit for Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard.
“A dual-threat passer, Leonard finished his only season with the Irish throwing for 2,861 yards, 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions while adding another 906 yards and 17 scores on the ground,” Reid wrote. “Leonard is a quick-game operator who thrives in a timing-based offense. He excels when he gets the ball out quickly, and his 78.7 QBR last season ranked 12th in the FBS.
“He has more than enough mobility to escape and create outside of the structure of the offense. He’s also a tough runner on designed QB runs. Excluding sacks, Leonard’s 1,012 rushing yards were the eighth most among QBs.”
Any dual-threat quarterback should be at home in a system designed for Jackson, even if Leonard doesn’t share much else in common with the two-time MVP. That’s why they’ve had quarterbacks with similar skillsets to Jackson as their backups in recent years.
As a Day 3/undrafted free agent prospect, though, Leonard obviously has some major concerns about his NFL viability.
“The Irish offense didn’t venture to the intermediate or deeper parts of the field. Leonard averaged only 7.1 air yards per passing attempt (83rd in FBS), which shows that the team stayed in the underneath areas,” Reid wrote. “He was asked to throw deeper passes at the combine, and the lack of drive strength on the throws was apparent, especially when he had to step into passes and display velocity.
“When the initial option isn’t open, Leonard tends to hang on to the ball or immediately drop his eyes to look for available running lanes. He needs to have more play patience by continuing to stay on schedule through the next steps of his progressions.”
The Ravens added two rookie quarterbacks last year in sixth-round pick Devin Leary (Kentucky) and undrafted free agent Emory Jones (Cincinnati). Neither of them made the roster, though Leary spent the year on the team’s practice squad and signed a reserve/futures contract earlier this year.
Maybe they could roll the dice on Leonard and see how he fares in the preseason, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
