Thanks to Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, we now have the answer to one of the greatest mysteries that came out of the NFL combine this year.
Although Jackson is a quarterback -- and has been a quarterback his entire life -- a report came out during the combine that several teams wanted Jackson to work out as a wide receiver so they could get an idea of what he might be capable of, if he were to switch positions. Jackson was so upset by the request that he decided to pull out of the 40-yard dash.
When the report about Jackson switching positions originally came out, it didn't list which teams asked him to play wide receiver, so all we could do was guess. However, we no longer have to guess, because Jackson revealed the details during a recent podcast with the Ravens official website.
The one interesting nugget here is that there weren't multiple teams that asked Jackson to do receiving drills, apparently, there was only one: The Los Angeles Chargers.
"It was a Chargers scout, he was the one who told me about it," Jackson said. "Like, he was the first one to come to me about it, and I'm like, 'What?' He caught me off guard with it. I even made a face for him like, 'What?' I'm thinking he's trying to be funny, but he kept going with it, so it just became blown out of proportion."
Jackson said he made it very clear that he had exactly zero interest in playing receiver.
"He was like, 'Oh, Lamar, you're going to go out for some wide receiver routes?'" Jackson said. "I'm like, 'Nah, quarterback only.' So that made me not run the 40 and participate in all that other stuff."
The Chargers must have gotten their scouting report from former NFL general manager Bill Polian, because he was all about the position switch. Before the combine, Polian, who was the Colts' GM from 1997-2011, was very vocal with his opinion that Jackson should switch to wide receiver, because his throwing "accuracy isn't there."
Although most teams viewed Jackson as a talented quarterback, he still took a tumble in the draft. After sitting through the first 31 picks, Jackson didn't get selected until the Ravens traded up and grabbed him with the final pick of the first round.
It's a good thing the Chargers didn't select him, because this quarterback thing seems to be working out well so far in Baltimore. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora was at Ravens' minicamp in mid-June and based on his report, which you can read by clicking here, it's only a matter of time before Jackson takes over the starting job from Joe Flacco.