John Harbaugh is aware of a worry with one Ravens’ late-round draft pick that could crush his NFL career

The most surprising selection of the 2024 NFL Draft for the Baltimore Ravens came in the sixth round when they selected a quarterback. 

Baltimore already has their franchise guy in Lamar Jackson, as well as backups Josh Johnson and Malik Cunningham. Still, the Ravens appear like they’ll give draft pick Devin Leary a chance to earn the backup job.

Leary coming into the NFL has one obvious thing to fix and the best thing about it is he is fully aware.

"I think it's very fixable in the sense that, the arm strength is there, and I think he's an accurate thrower," head coach John Harbaugh said of the turnover problem with Leary. "But, he unfortunately threw it to the other team too many times. He and I had that conversation. I said 'What's your trait?' He said, "I work hard, [and] I'm tough. I'm dedicated,' and I go, 'I know, but what's your football trait on the field?' He goes 'Oh, I've got a great arm.' I go, 'Bull's eye, you can throw the ball. What is the biggest thing you need to work on?' He goes, 'I need to cut down on the interceptions and turnovers.' So, he knows, and that's something that I think you can get better at."

Leary played his first four seasons at North Carolina State before transferring to Kentucky. The turnover issues were glaring at Kentucky, where he threw 12 of them in 13 games. Nearly a turnover a game at the college level is a lot and that’s what Leary dealt with as a fifth-year senior.

In the 30 games that Leary played with the Wolfpack, he tossed 16 interceptions to the other team, which was a significantly lower turnover rate.

The ideal plan for the Ravens is to develop him and to stay in a situation where he does not have to play as a rookie. All that means is keeping Jackson healthy under center.

Leary has enough arm talent to stick around in the NFL but his decision-making must improve. Step No. 1 is being aware of the issue and Leary already is.