Ravens QB Jackson will test defense’s limits
On the same day the Ravens scrambled to satisfy their MVP quarterback with the most lucrative contract in league history, the Texans finalized a draft board stocked with defenders who’d eventually be tasked with stopping him.
Lamar Jackson once considered leaving Baltimore. He’d properly leveraged a March 2 trade demand that the Ravens properly resolved. Hours before the draft began, they fully guaranteed more than half of Jackson’s five-year, $260 million extension. Hours after the draft began, they further supplied Jackson with passcatchers (a previous point of contention) by drafting Zay Flowers No. 22 overall to join free agent signees Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor.
And so was born a revamped Ravens offense that must meet a talent-infused Texans defense at a schematic crossroads in Sunday’s regular-season opener in Baltimore. Jackson’s expanded role in newly hired offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s system will properly test the limitations of an overhauled defensive front that’s still maturing under first-year coach DeMeco Ryans.
A 2022 Texans-Ravens matchup would have been predictable. Jackson, a twotime 1,000-yard rusher, would have almost certainly become the eighth player to rush for 100 yards against a Texans defense that gave up the most single-season rushing yards in franchise history, which would have made the passing-game restrictions within former offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s scheme (which used two-back packages more frequently than any other team: 59%, according to NFL analyst Joseph Hefner) inconsequential.
But of course, it’s 2023. This matchup is far more interesting. Monken’s return to NFL play-calling after coordinating Georgia’s offense to back-to-back college national championships features a scheme he says “empowers” Jackson with playcalling input and the freedom to audible. In a system that’s expected to deploy more three-wide receiver sets (which Monken favored as OC of the Buccaneers and Browns), Jackson wields the power to exploit defensive back-heavy defenses with his legs if he can indeed stretch the field with his arm.
So far, Baltimore’s threat is only a theory. Jackson did not play in the preseason. Still, this means the Texans can only rummage through exhibition film that feature backups Tyler Huntley and Josh Johnson. When asked about preparing for Monken’s mystery, Ryans admitted “there’s a lot you can get into when you talk about preparing for this team.” He’s aware of Jackson’s receiver upgrades, “but knowing the Ravens and their style,” the former 49ers defensive coordinator is still expecting them to prominently feature the run game.
This places Houston’s rebuilt linebacker corps under scrutiny. The defense’s other units will certainly also be challenged. Sunday will feature the full debut of No. 3 overall pick Will Anderson Jr.’s unleashing as a “Wide-9” edge rusher who’ll constantly attack Jackson, and a promising secondary that added former 49ers safety Jimmie Ward must lock down a repaired Ravens receiver group that also features dynamic return specialist and former Texas Longhorn Devin Duvernay.
But the most significant battle will take place at the defense’s second-level. If this year’s collection of linebackers look as lost as last year’s, there’s little hope that the Texans’ defense can control games in the way they must in support of a fledgling offense quarterbacked by rookie C.J. Stroud. If they are outmatched by All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews and Baltimore’s running back trio of J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, that will foreshadow a foreboding trend against opponents with similar makeups like the Jaguars, Falcons and Saints.
The 2022 Texans linebackers were defined by poor positioning, bad tackling and being exploited in coverage. Former “Mike” linebacker Christian Kirksey, who was cut last week, had logged 97.3% of the defense’s snaps. Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio moved to upgrade middle linebacker by signing Denzel Perryman, a 2021 Pro Bowler with the Raiders, to a one-year, $2.6 million deal.
Perryman projected promise in 35 preseason snaps. He totaled nine tackles. He sacked former Patriots backup Bailey Zappe on a deft delayed blitz. He picked off Dolphins starter Tua Tagovailoa on the game’s first play. He was targeted five times and surrendered three catches for 31 yards. Although the Dolphins mounted a 14-play, 93yard touchdown drive in the only preseason game the Texans faced a starting offense, there’s an ample sample size throughout training camp to suggest Perryman can be an upgrade.
There will be few players more prominently positioned to jostle Jackson than Perryman, whose snap share could resemble Kirksey’s while playing “Mike” linebacker in Houston’s base and nickel packages. Perryman last played Jackson in a 2021 overtime win by the Raiders in which the linebacker logged 10 tackles and recovered a fumble.
“He’s shown that multiple time throughout his career that he’s an instinctive football player,” Ryans said of Perryman. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to add him to our team. He’s an instinctive football player, can make plays all over the field, plays with a high level of intensity, and everyone around him needs to play with the same intensity.”
The Texans are counting on their outside linebackers to be more effective this season. Christian Harris called 2023 “a fresh start” and absolved himself of the rookie mistakes he made in former coach Lovie Smith’s scheme. Harris didn’t miss any tackles in 65 preseason snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, and his pick six versus Tagovailoa during joint practices demonstrated the damage Ryans believes the 2022 third-round pick can inflict within this defense.
Ryans requires his linebackers to be flexible and versatile, proficient in pass coverage. It’s partly what enabled the 49ers to stay in their base 4-3 packages for just over a quarter of their total defensive snaps in 2022, according to Hefner. It’s why Blake Cashman, who logged more special teams snaps (320) than defensive snaps (149) for the Texans last year, seized a starting job after snagging two interceptions in a twoday stretch during training camp.
Harris (6-foot-1, 226) and Cashman (6-1, 237) are both explosive runners who posted 4.5-second 40-yard dash times at the scouting combine. Jackson presents the ultimate test of their range and play-recognition. They’ll be challenged to cover Andrews and others while being simultaneously prepared to contain Jackson and recognize when the Ravens are running — responsibilities the linebacker corps often failed to fulfill in Smith’s scheme.
The unit will be further vulnerable if Harris and Cashman are not available. Cashman missed the final two preseason games after injuring his hamstring, a person with knowledge of the situation said, and he did not practice on Monday. Harris, who played in all three exhibitions, also missed Monday’s practice with an undisclosed injury, but it wasn’t expected to sideline him against the Ravens, a person with knowledge of the injury said.
Henry To’oTo’o and Jake Hansen are the most prepared to replace Harris and Cashman.
To’oTo’o, a fifth-round rookie from Alabama, played more than any other linebacker in the preseason, and he spent 77 of his 91 snaps at outside linebacker, according to Pro Football Focus. Ryans and Caserio have often expressed confidence in To’oTo’o, whose preseason included a thirdand-1 stop against the Patriots in which he quickly sniffed out a running back flare but also a third-and-11 touchdown in which he was outmaneuvered by Dolphins slot receiver Braxton Barrios.
Hansen led the Texans with 12 tackles in the preseason, but the second-year undrafted free agent also surrendered a touchdown in coverage against the Dolphins on an 8-yard out to running back Salvon Ahmed.
Neither linebacker has yet played against Jackson, nor have they seen the star quarterback in his new scheme. But there’s enough film out there for them to understand the threat they’re facing.
“When you see Lamar, it’s Lamar,” To’oTo’o said. “He’ll make a play sometimes when you try to make a play. His feet are crazy — so fast. He’s so decisive with the ball in his hands.”