Ravens observations: Defense has upper hand vs. Lamar Jackson in camp’s first padded practice

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As the pads came on Monday in Owings Mills, the accuracy fell off.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson had his toughest day of training camp, denied a completion in 11-on-11 drills until his third such practice period. Unofficially, after an 0-for-5 start, he finished the midday session 6-for-14 overall, with a 3-for-4 mark in seven-on-seven action.

“There’s always going to be back and forth in training camp,” coach Jesse Minter said after the Ravens’ first padded practice. “Look at the tape, there’ll probably be some good plays on both sides, some good runs that hit where who knows if we would have made the tackle or not? Some good things in the passing game, some good things from the defense. So all in all, I thought it was just good back and forth overall.”

The offense, precise at the start of camp last week, was out of sync early. On Jackson’s first drop-back, he looked for wide receiver Rashod Bateman, running a comeback route along the right sideline against cornerback Marlon Humphrey. Jackson’s pass was uncatchable, arriving low and wide. On Jackson’s next drop-back, he had tight end Mark Andrews running up the seam, a step of separation against Humphrey. But his pass landed beyond Andrews’ reach.

There were flashes of greatness from the first-string offense — Andrews nearly had a diving grab in the end zone after a Jackson scramble near the right sideline, only to land just out of bounds — but most of the Ravens’ passing production came on penalties. Kyle Hamilton was flagged in the end zone on a red-zone repetition against Andrews, and fellow safety Jaylinn Hawkins was called for pass interference after running into rookie wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane before he could contest a jump ball in the corner of the end zone.

Jackson appeared to complete just one pass beyond 10 air yards Monday, on an odd-looking drop-back that he seemed to abort midway through so that he could sling a pass to tight end Durham Smythe. But he was let down on shorter attempts, too. In Jackson’s final 11-on-11 period, running back Derrick Henry had a check-down pass glance off his fingertips. Two plays later, Andrews couldn’t secure a pass over the middle as inside linebacker Trenton Simpson beared down on him in coverage.

Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley didn’t fare much better. He was 5-for-10 in 11-on-11 action, with seemingly all of his completions coming on passes thrown 10 yards downfield or less.

Campbell returns

Ravens defensive lineman Calais Campbell made his camp debut Monday, practicing for the first time since the death of his 71-year-old mother, Nateal Campbell, in late June.

Ciarre Campbell, Calais’ brother, has been charged with her murder in Atlanta.

Campbell participated in position drills along with defensive lineman John Jenkins, who was activated off the physically-unable-to-perform list Monday.

“He’s like a force multiplier,” Minter said of Campbell. “Just how he operates, the wisdom that he brings, the leadership that he brings. … He’s still a really high-caliber player for his position, so we’re excited to work him in, start to ramp him in to get ready. That’ll be at a pace that’s good for him.”

Defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike, who underwent offseason neck surgery, took another step in his return to action, watching positional drills with his helmet on. Minter said the Ravens had no clear timetable for when he would be cleared for his next progression.

“I love where he’s at,” Minter said. “I love where his head’s at. He’s excited. The room’s excited. It’s fun when he’s out there. And so I think that’s headed in a great direction for us.”

One-on-one highlights

• Wide receiver Zay Flowers beat Humphrey for a completion downfield on a double move on the drill’s first battle.
• Bateman beat cornerback Amani Oruwariye for a catch on a quick in-breaker.
• Lane beat cornerback Chidobe Awuzie on a vertical route for a catch. On the final rep of the drill, he got inside Humphrey for a short reception.
• Rookie wide receiver Elijah Sarratt had a handful of impressive reps, including beating cornerback Keyon Martin on an out-breaking route and in-breaking route and safety Keondre Jackson on a vertical route. But he dropped the pass after getting by Jackson.

Extra points

• Rookie tight end Matt Hibner had an impressive sequence in an 11-on-11 red-zone drill. On a play-action screen play with Huntley that was designed for the fourth-round pick, Hibner followed his blocks and showed his acceleration on what could’ve been about a 15-yard catch-and-run score. A few plays later, with Skylar Thompson at quarterback, he found a soft spot over the middle on a play-action drop-back and caught a pass near the goal line for a similar gain.
• While the Ravens’ passing game struggled, their offensive line created a handful of holes for running backs throughout practice. Rasheen Ali and rookie Adam Randall both showed good patience and burst on second-level runs.
• Minter said the Ravens would “certainly do some things” to replace offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji, a swing tackle who signed on the eve of camp and retired Sunday. Minter called Adeniji’s decision a “personal situation.”
• Orioles manager Craig Albernaz visited practice with his family. Minter was a “guest splasher” at Camden Yards on opening day in late March and visited the Orioles before a game in Cincinnati against the Reds in July.