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Should the Denver Broncos be evaluating Lamar Jackson?

By Andrew Wade

JACKSONVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 30: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals takes the field prior to the TaxSlayer Bowl against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at EverBank Field on December 30, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 30: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals takes the field prior to the TaxSlayer Bowl against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at EverBank Field on December 30, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The Contextualized Quarterbacking guide analyzes the top quarterbacks, and Lamar Jackson comes out shining. Why are the Denver Broncos not evaluating him?

MOBILE, AL – JANUARY 27: Baker Mayfield #6 of the North team and Josh Allen #17 warm up before the Reese’s Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
MOBILE, AL – JANUARY 27: Baker Mayfield #6 of the North team and Josh Allen #17 warm up before the Reese’s Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

John Elway and the Denver Broncos are not hiding their interest in this year’s top quarterbacks. Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield, and Josh Allen have all visited Dove Valley.

Rumored top pick, Sam Darnold, had a private workout with the Denver Broncos, but did not visit Dove Valley.

One quarterback that has not been linked to the Denver Broncos at all is Lamar Jackson. Jackson, a former Heisman winner from Louisville, is considered the 5th best quarterback of the class behind Rosen, Mayfield, Allen, and Darnold.

The biggest obstacles facing Jackson are:

–        His scheme doesn’t translate to the NFL.

–        There are accuracy concerns.

–        He has too small (He weighs 200 pounds standing at 6’3’’).

–        He would be better off transitioning to another position.

What you will find in Benjamin Solak’s comprehensive guide to analyzing this year’s quarterbacks is not what you would expect. Solak’s guide is called Contextualized Quarterbacking. In Solak’s words, this guide is:

"A charting endeavor designed to provide steadfast responses to quarterbacking narratives through hard data, thereby improving the landscape of quarterback evaluations."

This essentially means to use analytics to judge quarterbacks more appropriately. The results make some top quarterbacks shine (Mayfield, Jackson) and others look like the second coming of Ryan Leaf (Allen).

The 72 page document analyzes 13 quarterbacks on five different contexts:

–        First Read: How often does the quarterback throw to the first read of the play?

–        Pocket: Is the throw coming from within or out of the pocket?

–        Platform: Is the quarterback throwing on the run or in the pocket? Are they having to make throwing mechanic adjustments to account for other variables?

–        Pressure: Is there pressure on the throw, and how the QB perform?

–        Window: Is the ball placed in a tight throwing lane?

He then analyzed whether the throw was accurate and the placement. Accuracy was graded as catchable or not catchable. Placement was judged on a three point scale.

The document evaluates Josh Allen, Kurt Benkert, Sam Darnold, Luke Faulk, Lamar Jackson, Kyle Lauletta, Chase Litton, Baker Mayfield, Josh Rosen, Mason Rudolph, Brandon Silvers, Mike White, and Logan Woodside. Every single throw that had a camera angle showing the throw and catch are included in this evaluation.

To download the full report, click here.

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