Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson has made one intention clear through three weeks of the 2021 NFL season — he wants to push the ball downfield.
After three games, Jackson’s average distance of target is a shocking 12.3 yards per attempt, per Next Gen Stats. Jackson leads the NFL in distance per target by a large margin— 2.6 yards further than the next passer (Josh Allen at 9.7 yard average distance of target). For reference, that’s the same distance (2.6 yards per attempt) that separate Allen and the 25th ranked passer (Justin Herbert).
The record for highest air yards per attempt in an NFL season dating back to 2016 (when Next Gen Stats started tracking the metric) is 11.