The Ravens didn't interview Lamar Jackson before the draft because they didn't want rumors to spread about how badly they wanted him

• The Baltimore Ravens traded up for the 32nd pick to take Lamar Jackson in the 2018 NFL draft.
• According to Peter King of NBC Sports, the Ravens feigned disinterest in Jackson before the draft, choosing not to interview him so there wouldn't be any rumors connecting them to Jackson.
• Jackson has made the decision look smart this season, as he looks like the front-runner for MVP and a franchise quarterback for a possible Super Bowl contender.
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The Baltimore Ravens' decision to trade up in the 2018 draft to take Lamar Jackson with the 32nd overall pick has looked brilliant this season.

Jackson may have moved to the front of the MVP race on Sunday as he completed 17 of 24 passes for 222 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions while adding another 86 rushing yards to help the Ravens beat the Houston Texans 41-7, their sixth win in a row.

According to NBC Sports' Peter King, for the Ravens to land their game-changing quarterback nearly two years ago, they had to act uninterested in him in the build-up to the draft.

Ravens GM Eric DeCosta told King that they were interested in drafting Jackson, but wanted to make sure they were never linked to him.

"We didn't even interview Lamar at the combine because we didn't want to be associated with him," DeCosta said. "We didn't want rumors about us and him to start. They didn't. We were proud of that."

The Ravens had just one pick, No. 18 overall, in the first round. They executed two trade-downs to acquire multiple picks, then traded up for the Philadelphia Eagles' No. 32 pick when Jackson was still on the board.

"We felt like there was a pretty good chance that Lamar might be there later in the first round, early part of the second round. We were willing, if we could, to trade back, trade back, accumulate capital and then possibly either try to trade back again or in a second round, make a play and get Lamar at that point. But, you know, it was a risk."

Some people within the Ravens were totally unaware that DeCosta and then-GM Ozzie Newsome were targeting Jackson.

"Drafts are strange like that. It's just Ozzie and me at the end of the table, the only ones who really know," DeCosta told King. "When you're trying to make a decision as important as that, you try and keep it as quiet as you can. Because it's not that you don't want to share it with people, but the downside - which would be losing the player - is much greater than the upside of sharing the information with somebody that you care about."

It helped the Ravens that there were questions about Jackson leading up to the draft. Former NFL GM Bill Polian said he thought Jackson was a receiver, not a quarterback, at the NFL level. One team had asked him to work out as a wide receiver. Jackson refused, insisting on playing as a quarterback.

This season, Jackson has made those pre-draft concerns look silly. He's already thrown for 2,258 yards and 19 touchdowns with just 5 interceptions. His 106.3 passer rating is fourth among quarterbacks, and his ability to run the ball has added another dynamic to the Ravens offense.

Jackson, of course, hasn't forgotten those slights. After throwing for 324 yards, 5 touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating in Week 1, Jackson quipped, "Not bad for a running back."

At one point in time, Jackson probably saw the Ravens as one of his doubters. It turns out, they believed in him and had to feign disinterest just to get him.

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