Lamar Jackson was not vague when asked what about Todd Monken's offense will better showcase his abilities.
"Less running and more throwing," Jackson said after Wednesday's OTA practice, his first with his new offensive coordinator.
No team in the NFL has run the ball more than the Ravens since Jackson became the starter in 2018, and Jackson has done much of it. In 61 career starts, Jackson has 699 rushing attempts –more than 11 per game.
In 2019, Jackson set the single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback (1,206 yards), and his 4,437 career rushing yards are by far the most of any quarterback in his first five seasons. Cam Newton is second, 1,230 yards behind.
When asked if his rushing attempts will drop this year, Jackson smiled.
"Absolutely, especially with the receivers we have," he said.
"Running can only take you so far. I feel like, with this new era of teams and offenses in the league, I feel like we need that. And Coach Todd Monken, what I'm seeing in his offense so far is looking tremendous."
Monken still plans to use Jackson's mobility, and it's not like quarterback runs will be eliminated from the Ravens' playbook. During Monken's past two national championship years at Georgia, quarterback Stetson Bennett averaged about four rushes per game. Bennett ran for 10 touchdowns last year.
Still, it will be different for Jackson moving forward. Asked whether he thought running less could elongate his career, Jackson pointed to running back Frank Gore's 16-year career and said he'll play "however long God wants me to play."
While his football mortality isn't on his mind, using his arm more and legs less to win games is what Jackson wants. He indicated this offseason that he wanted a more traditionally pro-style offense and Monken is delivering.
"Just being able to throw the ball down the field," Jackson said.
"I hear a lot of noise about throwing and stuff like yards to achieve and stuff, but I'm not really worried about yards as much. It's about us just winning. So, that will be all – the winning category, if anything."
