Lamar Jackson Will Not Play WR, Will Represent Himself

We heard several days ago that Louisville QB Lamar Jackson was asked to work out as a wider receiver in addition to working out as a quarterback. However, Jackson himself has disputed that report, according to multiple outlets. Per James Palmer of the NFL Network, Jackson said that no one has asked him to play wideout and that he views himself strictly as a quarterback (Twitter link). Doug Kyed of NESN.com (via Twitter) reports that Jackson would not be willing to play a position other than QB, and Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post echoed that sentiment (Twitter link).

Nonetheless, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reaffirms the previous report — which was made by NFL.com colleague Peter Schrager — that Jackson was indeed asked to work out as a WR (Twitter link). In a separate tweet, Rapoport downplays the significance of the request, saying that other top prospects, like Georgia RB Sony Michel and NC State DE Bradley Chubb, were asked to work out at wide receiver and linebacker, respectively. Of course, asking a running back to run some wideout drills and asking a defensive end to do LB drills is not exactly the same as asking a quarterback whose future as a signal-caller is somewhat in doubt to do work as a receiver.

All of this comes on the heels of reports that Jackson is choosing to represent himself (with his mother serving as his manager). ESPN’s Josina Anderson says (via Twitter) that Jackson does not believe an agent is necessary with the current rookie pay scale system, and there is certainly some truth to that. But, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk observes, an agent would be helpful in putting to rest the dispute as to whether Jackson has been asked to do work as a wide receiver.

Florio suggests that an agent could call the NFL.com reporters to “unring the bell” and to otherwise do what needs to be done to prevent this “issue” from reflecting poorly on Jackson. After all, the report may have been planted by an agent of another QB who is trying to get his client drafted as high as possible, or even by a team interested in Jackson that is trying to get the Louisville star to drop just far enough in the draft.

In any event, Jackson remains one of the most exciting players in the draft, and regardless of his wide receiver skills, he is currently viewed as a first- or second-round QB prospect.