With a quarterback good enough to draw rave reviews, and a running back who won’t let media jabs get to him, the Baltimore Ravens have their share of strong points. And the same running back said he’s ‘blown away’ by the same quarterback after joining the Ravens earlier this year.
Derrick Henry told the NFL on CBS, that Jackson’s “arm talent is through the roof.”
The question posed to Henry involved his viewpoint of Jackson in the short time they’ve had together as teammates.
“It’s the type of leader he is, and what he commands out of his guys,” Henry said. “The dynamic player he is. I was blown away with some of the throws through camp and OTAs. His arm talent is with the best of them, for sure.”
Ravens RB Derrick Henry forming a duo with Jackson
According to nfl.com, Ravens’ tight end Mark Andrews said the duo will help everybody.
“It’s incredible, man,” Andrews said. “When you have a guy like Derrick, and then you’ve got No. 8 in the backfield, it’s … we’ve been against Derrick so many times in the last seven years I’ve been playing here. So just knowing the type of player that he is, how tough he is, and the type of game plans you have to have for a guy like Derrick … it’s going to be all eyes on him and (No.) 8. So, for us, being around those guys, it’s making the plays that are going to open things up for some really good things, which I’m excited about.”
Henry is coming off his second-straight 1,000 rushing-yard season and fifth overall. He’s also only four years removed from his dominant 2,207-yard season, which included 17 touchdowns. Henry has six straight years with double-digit rushing scores.
And now he’s part of a team that led the league in rushing in 2023 with 156.5 yards per game. Just think of the headaches defenses will have, trying to figure out whether to chase Jackson on the option or protect the middle against the bruising Henry. It has the potential of being one of the most-difficult-to-defend duo the NFL has seen in quite some time.
Plus, Henry is a hard worker, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said via ravenswire.com.
“I guess the main thing that’s stood out is just what a great guy he is, what a hard worker, what a pro,” Harbaugh said. “He’s so diligent, (he’s in) great shape, and diligent about every single play, everything he does. You can see why he’s been so successful.”
Just how good will these guys be in 2024?
One of the key questions for the Ravens is whether Jackson can finally get to the Super Bowl? And is Henry the tipping point for getting him there? Harbaugh told foxsports.con that Jackson has a growth mindset.
“He’s going to get better and better, no doubt,” Harbaugh said. “But what does he have to do to prove himself to some people, right? We’ve always had a vision for Lamar Jackson, and it started with Lamar’s vision and his mom’s vision when he said he was going to be a quarterback. We bought into that. We built an offense for it in ‘19. We’re building another offense for it in ‘23 and ’24, going forward, right? The next iteration of our offense, around Lamar Jackson.”
