Lamar Jackson Visited Patriots Twice Ahead Of NFL Draft, And Even Saw Belichick Laugh
BOSTON (CBS) -- With the NFL Draft just a day away, it certainly seems like the Patriots are interested in quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The former Heisman Trophy winner spoke with reporters in Dallas on Wednesday, and let them know that he met with the Patriots twice during the pre-draft process. In addition to his workout in Foxboro, Jackson had a private workout in South Florida with offensive coordinator (and likely head coach in waiting) Josh McDaniels.
The quarterback even revealed that he's seen Bill Belichick laugh, so things are getting really serious here folks.
The Patriots are in the market for a quarterback to take over when Tom Brady eventually retires, and they have enough picks this year (eight overall, two first-round picks) to draft one while also filling other important areas on their depth chart. New England would likely have to use the 23rd overall pick to land Jackson, but with five picks in the first 95 selections, they also have the ammo to move up in the draft if they need to do so.
Jackson won the Heisman with Louisville in 2016 as a sophomore, throwing for 3,543 yards with 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions while also rushing for 1,571 yards and 21 touchdowns. He threw for 3,660 yards with 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while rushing for 1,601 yards and 18 touchdowns his junior season in 2017.
Earlier this week, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported that the Patriots were intrigued and impressed with Jackson during his visit to Foxboro.
As always with Belichick, this could all be just a smokescreen. But this seems like a whole lot of legwork just to throw other teams off their scent, so their interest in Jackson appears to be legit. We'll know soon enough.
