A Lamar Jackson suitor has emerged in the wake of the Chicago Bears-Carolina Panthers trade.
With the Carolina Panthers trading up to No. 1 in a blockbuster deal with the Chicago Bears, this means another team has likely entered the fray for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in the Indianapolis Colts.
Assuming Carolina stays at No. 1, the Panthers are almost certainly going to take either C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State or Anthony Richardson out of Florida to be their franchise quarterback. New head coach Frank Reich does not do short quarterbacks, which means Alabama’s Bryce Young is going to the Houston Texans at No. 2, unless the Colts were to trade up from No. 4 with Carolina.
So with Carolina and Houston absolutely taking quarterbacks ahead of them and the Arizona Cardinals being a very interesting potential trade partner at No. 3 for a team like the Las Vegas Raiders picking at No. 7, that may result in the Colts settling for the fourth of four quarterbacks coming off the board. I do like Will Levis, but that may not be good enough for some Colts fans.
Daniel Jeremiah of The NFL Network feels this is an easy call for the Colts to make with Jackson.
Keep in mind that Jeremiah is the lead draft analyst for The NFL Network and is best known previously as a scout for the Ravens under their iconic former general manager Ozzie Newsome.
Indianapolis Colts emerged as a sneaky-good landing spot for Lamar Jackson
Though Indianapolis and Baltimore have an interesting history together, because of the Mayflower move and all, this is not the craziest idea in the world. While I am so over the retreaded nonsense at quarterback for the Colts, Jackson is different. He is still very much in his prime and would fit in fantastically in new head coach Shane Steichen’s system. Who needs star wide receivers anyway?
By trading for Jackson, you would have the best quarterback in-division and something really positive to build on after the perpetual stooge buffoonery we have seen out of this franchise for the better part of a decade now. Not saying the Colts will be good enough to overtake Jacksonville to win the division, but they might win a game down in Duval before our next Presidential election.
As for Baltimore, you have the No. 4 pick. Whether it is Levis, Richardson or god, even Young, Todd Monken is going to absolutely cook running the Ravens offense. Levis and Richardson are better built for the harsh AFC North climate, but Young has that magic inside him. Better yet, draft Will Anderson Jr. or Jalen Carter at four and then ruin the league by winning with Stetson Bennett IV…
Overall, the Colts need to do something drastic to stop being a dead carcass of a franchise. I am not saying a rebrand and I am certainly not saying moving again to somewhere like St. Louis, but Jackson would be a massive hit of adrenaline to bring this moribund franchise out of the catacombs of irrelevancy. They are in-conference, but I think a deal can be made in a few weeks.
Ultimately, I think the Ravens and Colts are pretty solid trade partners in this. Each team can get what they want and have their respective franchises trending up simultaneously. Baltimore may not love Jackson having immediate success in Indianapolis, but the Ravens are a well-run franchise, more so than the Colts. We can trust Eric DeCosta to keep the Ravens playoff-viable.
Indianapolis is absolutely getting a quarterback, but it may not be in the draft like we all thought.
