INDIANAPOLIS -- Jabrill Peppers finally confirmed which position he thinks he should play in the NFL.
"What do I look like? ... I'm a safety," the former Michigan star said at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday.
For all the talk about what position he could play at the NFL level -- and speculation has ranged rather widely on that topic -- there is no confusion about Peppers' self-identification.
"The bottom line is, I'm a ball player, and I'm a hell of a ball player," Peppers said. "I intend to run fast, I intend to look smooth doing whatever it is I'm asked to do."
He played several positions in his Michigan career, but was grouped with linebackers for the combine because he was listed by Michigan as a linebacker in his final college season. That didn't sit well with a player who spent his pre-combine training working as a safety, so his agents made a special request to allow him to perform position drills with defensive backs. The answer: He could do so Monday with other defensive backs, but only if he went through linebacker drills Sunday, as well.
That suited Peppers just fine, and he's also been welcoming of suggestions from multiple NFL clubs that have mentioned to him the possibility of playing on offense, as a slot receiver or running back.
"They ask me where I see myself playing, if they were to draft me, where would they put me? What are my strong suits, what are my weaknesses? I tell them my natural position is definitely in the defensive backfield," Peppers added. "I had to fill a void (in 2016 at linebacker) because it was best for the team. If I had to do it all over again, I would. I didn't think it would hurt me."
It shouldn't, particularly given that NFL teams who want to see film of Peppers playing in the secondary need only to dig back another year in his game film, to 2015.
Either year, they'll see an impact player who presents all kinds of possibilities as a pro.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
