Baltimore Ravens receiver Marquise Brown is frustrated with his role this season. The second-year wideout let that irritation out with a since-deleted tweet that complained he wasn't being used.
MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson shouldered the blame for most of Brown's frustration.
"That's one of our key players to our offense," Jackson said Wednesday of Brown, via ESPN. "I want to get him the ball, the easiest way and fastest way we can. I have to do a better job of getting it to him."
Brown was targeted twice in Sunday's loss to Pittsburgh, catching just one pass for a 3-yard TD. The former first-round pick leads the Ravens with 27 catches for 379 yards in seven games, but his 44 targets put him tied for 45th in the NFL. For comparison, Brown has the same number of targets as Eagles' Travis Fulgham, who has played in just five games.
Brown's lack of production stems in part from Jackson's inaccuracy down the field. When the Ravens QB does look for the speedy receiver deep, he's mostly overshot. Another issue is Baltimore hasn't used Brown on intermediate and short routes either, with just nine of his targets coming on crossers, slants and screens.
"He's a big part of our offense. We need him," Jackson said. "So we got to be better at that, and we'll be fine."
How this story plays out will be an interesting one as they get set to face a Colts defense that is one of the tops in the NFL, raking sixth overall in passing yards allowed entering Sunday, with a rejuvenated Xavier Rhodes leading the way.
Will Jackson force a few more targets Brown's way, or will the Ravens lean even more heavily on the run game as Jackson's pass attack struggles to gain traction?
