By Derek Fleming
There’s the Aaron Rodgers treatment, and there’s whatever the Baltimore Ravens are doing to their star quarterback Lamar Jackson.
In his 16 years with the Green Bay Packers, their front office hasn’t selected one offensive skill player in the first round. Considering all the trade drama surrounding Rodgers this offseason, obviously, he wasn’t happy about it.
Could Lamar Jackson request a trade?
While the Ravens have spent some draft capital on weapons to pair with Jackson, obtaining rosterable weapons has been virtually impossible.
Yes, Jackson has all pro tight end Mark Andrews at his disposal, but after trading away former first round pick wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown this offseason, they have nobody left at the receiver position, besides former first rounder Rashod Bateman.
Jackson and the Ravens will need Bateman to step up this season and develop into a No. 1 wide receiver, or Jackson’s regression could continue.
Over the three seasons in which Jackson’s started, last season was by far his worst, going 7-5 and throwing just 16 touchdowns to an eye-popping 13 interceptions.
Jackson had just 15 interceptions to 62 touchdowns in his first two seasons.
Not only is Jackson unhappy with the Ravens trading away Brown, but as he enters the final year of his rookie deal, he’s still waiting on a contract extension. Between these two issues, along with the lack of help on the outside, could we see Jackson request a trade?
Rashod Bateman’s underwhelming stats
Depends on whether or not Bateman can live up to his potential and become a top wide receiver like the Ravens drafted him to be.
Bateman had one solid season in his three seasons at the University of Minnesota, while the other two were unimpressive.
In his sophomore campaign, he recorded 60 catches for 1,219 yards and 11 touchdowns, all career highs.
His freshman year, he was unable to generate yards after the catch. While his junior year was cut short due to him opting out of the college football season six games in.
The college resume isn’t turning anyone’s head, nor are the stats he registered his rookie season with Baltimore.
Rashod Bateman needs to establish himself as No. 1 wide receiver
After starting the season on the injured reserve because of a groin injury, he played 12 games, logging 46 catches for 515 yards and a touchdown.
The 6th highest selected ball catcher’s 515 receiving yards were 7th best among all rookies.
Although he played fewer games than five of the six guys listed ahead of him, he still ranked 7th in yards per game.
Don’t get me wrong, he showed some flashes this season, putting up two 80 yard games and 103 yard game. Bateman has the talent to do so, but becoming the go-to wide receiver is difficult when you face the opponent’s top cornerback.
It’s no secret the Ravens run a run-first offense; just ask Hollywood Brown why he wanted to be traded. With it being run-oriented, don’t expect Bateman to put up the stats a Davante Adams would, let alone see the target command the Jaylen Waddle demanded, for all you fantasy football heads out there.
However, that doesn’t mean Bateman can get away with not developing. This offense will need Bateman to step up and get open when Jackson needs him; if not, the Ravens have nobody on the outside.
If Jackson goes into the season without a deal, he’ll be pissed off. If he goes into the season with no deal and no good wide receivers, we may see drama in Baltimore spark quickly.