Lamar Jackson's Future in the NFL

Former Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson has been harshly criticized lately because of his recent performance at the NFL Combine. He is a smaller looking QB who was unable to throw the deep ball well at the combine in Indianapolis. A lot of people already knew this but how is this going to affect his gameplay in the NFL? A lot of the big names including Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Russel Wilson can all throw the deep ball at an exceptional level and find success doing so. According to sources at NFL.com, Jackson has a great pocket presence, is able to throw the ball at precise and efficient angles, and can scramble out of the pocket when pressured. His weaknesses consist of a small body size, a non-conventional setup to when he throws the ball, and can be lazy with passes at times including throwing the deep ball to receivers.

But what everyone knows is that the man can definitely play. In his Heisman year back in 2016, Jackson threw for 3,390 yards completing 58% of his passes, throwing for 30 touchdowns, and only nine interceptions the entire regular season. He also ran for over 1,500 yards along with 21 rushing touchdowns (ESPN). Lamar has received a lot of credit in his college career especially leading Louisville to the NCAA College Football Playoffs and being the #1 team in the country at multiple times during his time there. So where can we expect him to land next year after the draft? A lot of NFL teams are in need of a quarterback but he will probably not start wherever he goes (unless its Cleveland). Analysts everywhere are expecting Jackson to be selected either middle/late first round or even early in the second round. Could he play at another position such as a wide receiver? Of course he can because of his athletic ability but people should not underestimate his QB ability. I would not be surprised to see him land a back-up position somewhere and eventually getting some playing time during the next NFL regular season.