Ravens camp kicked off July 28 at the Under Armour Performance Center, and the first item on everyone's notepad was Lamar Jackson looking exactly like a guy trying to erase last year from memory. He went 10-for-13 in the opening practice, connected with Zay Flowers on a couple of deep shots, and generally looked sharp enough that safety Kyle Hamilton, who watches him every day, said Jackson somehow looks faster heading into his age-29 season. That's not a small thing to hear from a teammate who's paid to chase him down in practice.
Context matters here. Jackson's 2025 was a mess by his standards: a hamstring injury in Week 4 cost him three games, a back issue cost him another, and he finished with 349 rushing yards and just 2 rushing touchdowns across 13 games, all career lows. The passing numbers held up fine, 2,549 yards and 21 scores, but the legs are the whole engine of Jackson's fantasy profile, and when those stalled out, he dropped from the QB1 overall in 2024 to a pedestrian QB20 finish. That's the gap between a first-round fantasy asset and a guy you're happy to bench for a matchup.
So a camp report that centers on burst and mobility isn't just feel-good filler, it's the exact storyline fantasy managers need resolved before September. Jackson has said himself that his best football is still ahead, pointing to experience sharpening his decision-making even as the legs get tested by time. New head coach Jesse Minter, who replaced John Harbaugh, has also flipped camp to morning practices, and early word is players are buying into his approach. A new voice and a healthy quarterback is about as good a setup as you can script for a bounce-back.
The market has already priced in some skepticism but hasn't buried him. Jackson is going as the consensus QB2 behind Josh Allen in most 2026 drafts, with ADP hovering in the fourth-to-fifth round range depending on platform, roughly picks 45-54 overall. That's a discount off his peak seasons, and it's the kind of price where a return to even 900-1000 rushing yards makes him a league-winner again. If camp buzz about renewed speed carries into the preseason, expect that price to climb before your draft even happens, so managers on the fence should lean toward locking him in now rather than waiting for a bidding war in August.
The supporting cast angle only sweetens the pot. Rashod Bateman reportedly synced up with Jackson immediately despite skipping spring workouts, which matters for a Ravens passing game that leans on quick chemistry and yards after catch. Derrick Henry is back for an 11th season as the active leader in carries, rushing yards, and touchdowns, so the run-pass balance that keeps defenses honest and opens up Jackson's play-action shots isn't going anywhere. On the other side of the ball, Trey Hendrickson arriving as a free agent and Nnamdi Madubuike working back from neck surgery are worth tracking too, since a defense that can get stops faster means more possessions and more upside for the whole offense.
For fantasy purposes, the read right now is simple: don't overreact to three days of shorts-and-helmets practice, but don't ignore it either. Jackson's rushing volume is the single biggest swing factor in his outlook, and every camp report that mentions burst, speed, or mobility is a data point in the bull case. If he's genuinely moving like his 2024 self and not his hamstring-compromised 2025 self, the QB2 price tag looks like a bargain by September.
Betting markets will start moving on Ravens win totals and Jackson's MVP odds as camp reports pile up, and a clean, injury-free camp is exactly the kind of thing that nudges those numbers before a single preseason snap. Worth watching over the next few weeks: how much Jackson actually runs in padded practices and joint sessions, whether Bateman stays healthy as the No. 2 option, and whether Minter's morning-practice schedule keeps guys fresher into December. Any of those trending positive and Jackson's current ADP starts to look like the last discount before the price catches up to the talent.