Lamar Jackson is apparently faster than he has ever been, and that is very bad news for defensive coordinators around the AFC.
Baltimore Ravens All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton praised his quarterback at training camp on Wednesday, and one specific comment should have every opposing defense sweating.
“He might have gotten faster somehow,” Hamilton said of Jackson, per Clifton Brown of the Ravens’ official website. “I do not want to age him, but he is turning a certain age next year. It does not seem like that.”
Jackson turned 29 in January. Most NFL quarterbacks are supposed to be losing athleticism at that age, not gaining it. If Hamilton is right and Lamar has actually added another gear, this is going to be a nightmare for anyone trying to game plan against Baltimore.
The context here matters. Jackson’s 2025 season was, by his standards, a bit of a disappointment. He threw for 2,549 yards with 21 touchdowns and 7 interceptions while completing only 63.6 percent of his passes. His rushing numbers were the lowest of his career: 349 yards and 2 touchdowns on 67 carries.
Injuries were a big part of that. Jackson missed games last season, and even when he played, he was clearly working through nagging issues. His rushing volume dropped in part because he was being more careful with his body and in part because opposing defenses have gotten better at containing his scrambles.
If Hamilton is right that Jackson is looking faster in camp, health is probably the main reason. A fully healthy Lamar Jackson is a completely different problem than a banged-up one. When he can extend plays, escape pressure, and turn broken protection into 15-yard scrambles, the entire calculus of covering the Ravens changes.
Hamilton, for what it is worth, is not a hype-machine kind of player. He is a two-time All-Pro safety who is generally understated in his comments about teammates. When he says a quarterback he practices against every day looks faster, that carries some weight. He is not just handing out compliments.
The evolution of Jackson as a passer is what gets lost in these conversations. The 2019 MVP was a scrambler who could throw. The 2023 MVP was a passer who could scramble. That shift has been steady, and while last season’s numbers were down, the underlying skills as a thrower are still growing.
Add elite passing ability to renewed foot speed and Baltimore has something scary on its hands. The offense is still built around Jackson’s dual-threat capability, and Todd Monken has done a good job designing schemes that maximize his gifts. Getting him healthy and confident again could reset the AFC hierarchy this fall.
The Ravens have plenty of other questions to answer. The defense lost some pieces. Derrick Henry is another year older. Zay Flowers needs to prove he can be a real No. 1 receiver. But if Lamar is at 100 percent and running like Hamilton says he is, none of those other questions will matter as much as they might have.
Ravens training camp just started, so it is early to draw big conclusions. Still, the early returns from teammates suggest that Jackson is on a mission. That should scare everyone in the conference.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
