Jabrill Peppers Insists He's A Safety, Teams Keep Asking Him About Other Positions

Jabrill Peppers continues to insist he’s a safety, despite mostly playing linebacker during the 2016 college football season and being incredibly versatile. That insistence continued at the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday.

The Michigan product was one of the nation’s best players this year despite not having a perfect position fit. Now it appears NFL teams aren’t sure how to place him, as a number of them have asked him about playing several different positions.

Peppers will work out with the linebackers at the combine, apparently because that was his listed position in college. At 5’10” 7/8 and 213 pounds, he’s wildly undersized for an NFL linebacker. That’s also probably why he continues to insist he’s a safety, but NFL teams keep asking about different positions. In fact, multiple teams have apparently asked Peppers about playing either running back or slot receiver.

The 21-year-old was all over the field for the Wolverines in a ton of different roles, so it’s not shocking teams would be asking him about multiple positions. Like USC’s Adoree’ Jackson, Peppers might be too versatile and athletic to be locked into just one position long-term. But he clearly wants to be defined as a safety.

Peppers can be downright scary with the ball in his hands, particularly on special teams. I’d be shocked if he didn’t see some time on offense or on return teams during his NFL career. But his ability to show teams he can adequately perform at a single position will likely determine where he winds up on draft day.