Lamar Jackson and I stood against a wall inside the Baltimore Ravens’ practice facility in Owings Mills, Md., a few weeks after training camp began in August, and the reigning MVP of the NFL smiled several times during our conversation, almost as if to signal to me that he had something coming that he couldn’t really inform everyone about.

He had spent a lot of time in the off-season with his coaches, more than in the past.

He had already been a great player and everyone knew it.

But there was still, in his mind, a lot of room for improvement. And that growth was coming, along with the 1 percent he had spent the spring and summer chasing.

“It’s just the mental (part of the game),” Jackson said that afternoon. “I’m just more of a student of the game, and I don’t want to model my game after Tom Brady’s, but Tom Brady is a guy that I feel like we should all try to watch…What made him so successful? Seven Super Bowls. He won with another team. His mindset, his approach to the game, he just knows where all the guys are, he knows he has to protect himself.

“He’s not a guy who was a dual threat. He’s going to throw the ball. He will protect him. I know I can get away from these guys, I know where the free rusher is, but let me protect him, let my guys work instead of running all the time. Little things. It’s the 1 percent.

I don’t know if he would ever tell you he has that 1 percent. But he’s sure he’ll get there – and last Sunday’s win over the Broncos and Victory from behind Thursday evening against the Cincinnati Bengals were good signs of that.

Since becoming a starter in mid-2018, the Ravens quarterback has posted a triple-digit quarterback rating in 34 games. In 32 of those 34, he had at least 35 rushing yards. Against Denver, he had four. That’s right, four yards on three carries. And he paired those paltry numbers with a robust and perfect passer rating of 158.3. As of Thursday night, he had a 141.4 rating, throwing four touchdown passes.

Now, of course, part of Jackson’s ability to operate from the pocket is made possible by the fact that the defense still has to account for him as a runner. But for him to win a game, almost strictly as a passer? It probably didn’t happen that way before this year.

Which only highlights how, one way or another, he continues to become more and more valuable to the Ravens.

And with that, we will present you with our annual mid-season awards, voted on by a panel of 20 general managers, assistant general managers, vice presidents and professional scouting directors. The idea has always been to see what people who are paid to know these things see at a very granular level.

Starting with MVP voting, you’ll notice that it’s not always much different from what we all watch.

Winner: Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (12 votes).

Also receiving votes: Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen (3 votes), Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (2 votes), Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (1 vote), Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff (1 vote), Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (1 vote).

This would be Jackson’s second consecutive MVP and third overall (he won in 2019 and ’23), and it’s well deserved. It’s really hard to quantify what his value is to the Ravens. As a passer, entering Week 10, he was third in the NFL in passing yards (2,379), second in yards per attempt (9.3), second in touchdown passes (20) , 10th in completion percentage (68.2%) and first in touchdown passes. passer rating (120.7). He’s worked hard, and the result is not only an increase in those numbers, but also better chemistry with young weapons such as Zay Flowers and Isaiah Likely. And he’s still effective enough as a runner to allow the Ravens to run an offense that differs more from the average NFL scheme than any other. At 538 yards and 5.9 yards per carry, a third 1,000-yard season could be in sight. Simply put, there are few teams built more around a single player. In turn, it made this setup sing and proved largely useful to install.

Winner: Ravens RB Derrick Henry (10 votes).

Also receiving votes: Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley (4 votes), Goff (2 votes), Jackson (2 votes), Jefferson (2 votes).

After the Ravens’ Week 1 loss to the Chiefs, it seemed fair to question the wisdom of signing Henry – as a ninth-year defender, with a punishing style and a ton of mileage on the clock. But after 10 games, he had 1,120 yards and 12 touchdowns, along with two more receiving scores. The genius of his addition wasn’t just the solution. That’s how it played out, and Henry Bigfoot’s presence could reinforce the long-standing physical and punishing identity the Ravens have developed. A Bengals coach, before Thursday’s game, told me it appeared on tape that Henry had put the Ravens’ established philosophy “on steroids.” The results make this a fair assessment. (Barkley, by the way, also deserves the play he got here, especially in the way he stepped up amid a ton of skill-related injuries in Philadelphia.)

Winner: Giants DT Dexter Lawrence (8 votes).

Also receiving votes: Pittsburgh Steelers OLB TJ Watt (7 votes), Green Bay Packers S Xavier McKinney (2 votes), San Francisco 49ers LB Fred Warner (2 votes), Denver Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II (1 vote).

This one was interesting – I felt like our panel had a harder time voting on this one than the others. And even though I know how good Lawrence has been this season, the voting result surprised me. One voter wrote that Lawrence’s impact is “similar to the Cortez Kennedy year, where Seattle was horrible and he was dominant.” As a reminder, Kennedy had 14 sacks, four forced fumbles and 92 tackles during his DPOY season. Lawrence is up to nine sacks, 14 quarterback hits and 34 tackles in nine games, which is an outside number for an interior lineman, although it doesn’t match the turnover stats that Kennedy posted in 1992. That said, he’s definitely going to need to continue this momentum to get ahead of guys like Watt, who are playing with better defenses and teams that are likely headed to the playoffs.

Winner: Daniels (20 votes).

I don’t think much needs to be added here. You know the deal. He is launched almost 2,000 meters halfway. And we all remember his Hail Mary against the Chicago Bears.

Winner: Los Angeles Rams OLB Jared Verse (19 votes).

Also receiving votes: Tampa Bay Buccaneers CB Tykee Smith (1 vote).

The crazy thing is, it’s not like he’s setting the world on fire statistically. He has 3.5 sacks, which is respectable, but not exactly historic, for a rookie passer. But everyone knows. I’ve had a handful of coaches/scouts compare him to Terrell Suggs, just in the style of passer he is and the way he physically imposes his will in a game. And he’s become a key cog in how new defensive coordinator Chris Shula has gotten creative with his passable looks — some without a single linebacker on the field. The timing of Verse’s arrival is also good, just like the Rams needed after Aaron Donald retired. Verse should line up alongside Braden Fiske, Byron Young and Kobie Turner for a long time to come. And make the Rams look really smart for selecting him in the middle of the first round as well.

Winner: Dan Campbell, Detroit (8.5 votes).

Also receiving votes: Andy Reid, Chiefs (4 votes), Mike Tomlin, Steelers (3.5 votes), Dan Quinn, Commanders (3 votes), Kevin O’Connell, Vikings (1 vote).

My favorite stat from the Dan Campbell era… Before Halloween 2022, he was 4-19-1. Since then, he has been 29-9 years old. So, in no time, he turned a .173 winning percentage into .763. It’s incomprehensible and a tribute to Campbell’s ability to reach, motivate and maximize people. For him to be able to get guys to maintain their faith in his program, in the absence of real results on the field for so long, is extremely impressive. So, for this belief to be validated so categorically? Again, I don’t think there’s enough to say about the work Campbell and his team have done.

Winner: Lions general manager Brad Holmes (8 votes).

Also receiving votes: Commanders GM Adam Peters (4.5 votes), Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (2 votes), Rams GM Les Snead (2 votes), Chiefs GM Brett Veach (2 votes), Ravens GM Eric DeCosta (1.5 votes) .

Having the Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year from the same team would usually seem like a bit much, but not in this case. Holmes’ track record since becoming general manager is incredible – with a steady stream of guys such as Penei Sewell, Alim McNeill, Amon-Ra Sr. Brown, Aidan Hutchinson, Kerby Joseph, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch and Terrion Arnold selected. These pieces meshed well with existing cornerstones such as Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow, as well as veteran additions David Montgomery and Alex Anzalone. And then there’s Goff, who Holmes brought with him from Los Angeles as what most people considered a twist in the Matthew Stafford trade. Add it all up and you get a team that is winning now and looks like it will be winning for a long time to come. Holmes deserves a lot of credit for this.