Lamar Jackson right to dismiss any team that asks him to work out as WR

Editor's note (5:00 pm ET): This feature was written prior to Lamar Jackson denying reports that teams asked him to move to wide receiver.

Quarterbacks are NFL royalty.

No other position comes close in terms of responsibility, stardom, and financial rewards at the professional level.

Elite quarterbacks are revered, great ones are fought to the death over, and even just good ones can potentially sign for NFL-record money, as is the case for Kirk Cousins.

So why, NFL teams, do you think Lamar Jackson should eschew this most rewarding of paths to move to wide receiver, a position he has little to no experience in?

For Jackson, the insulting request should be met with a polite but firm, "thanks, but no thanks."

While Jackson is a Heisman-winning quarterback, the NFL draft is all about the projection of skill sets rather than focusing on statistical production, which can be inflated or deflated by supporting casts, scheme, and level of opponents.

The former Louisville standout shouldn't remain under center simply because he won the Heisman, or because he threw for over 7,000 yards and 57 touchdowns in the last two seasons.

He should stay because the NFL is built around game-breaking players. You want the ball in the hands of rare talents as much as possible, and Jackson is a level of athlete you don't see come along often.

The logic behind moving him to receiver is that his athleticism could be put to better use there and that he might not have the frame to withstand the punishment of playing quarterback.

But that simply doesn't pass the sniff test.

If the goal is to use Jackson's rare physical talents to their full potential, why move him away from the position which touches the ball more than any other by a wide margin? If you don't believe his lean frame can take the blows while at quarterback, it's ridiculous to suggest he can survive hit after hit over the middle of the field from 240-pound safeties and linebackers.

Jackson is far from a finished product, especially as a passer. He can sail throws, struggles with his downfield attempts, and has consistency and technique issues that must be addressed if he's to be the centerpiece of an offense.

However, he's shown solid year-to-year progress as a passer, even sometimes opting against using his amazing running ability - he rushed for over 3,000 yards and 39 touchdowns since 2016 - last season in an attempt to further highlight his willingness to stay in the pocket, go through progressions, and allow others to be the weapons in the offense (the less said about Jackson's supporting cast the better).

What's even more frustrating and confusing is that the NFL just watched teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, and Los Angeles Rams dominate offensively by incorporating and prioritizing college-like schemes and plays.

Teams' inability to see Jackson's sky-high potential in these types of offense proves the league, as usual, has learned nothing.

Modern offenses don't all require a Peyton Manning, someone who can hit every single pass and has immaculate pocket presence and timing. The league is changing quickly, and Jackson is just the latest in a long line of square pegs the round-hole obsessed NFL just can't figure out.

Jackson is expected to be the fifth quarterback taken come April, behind Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and Josh Allen.

Rosen and Darnold are the typical types of quarterbacks that go high in the draft, and Mayfield is a wild card with even more impressive production and refinement as a passer than Jackson.

But it's the league's infatuation with the polarizing Allen that should irk Jackson the most.

Jackson is criticized for having a sub-60 percent completion percentage. Well, he finished the 2017 campaign at 59.1 percent, while Allen completed 56.3 playing in the Mountain West Conference. Allen's turnovers and missed throws are blamed on his bad supporting cast, while Jackson is condemned for not elevating those around him enough.

Despite their similarities, Allen is considered a raw prospect whose all-world ceiling makes him a potential top-10 pick, while Jackson can't even get teams to take him seriously at a position he's played for essentially his entire sporting life.

Where are the calls for the unrefined but physical imposing Allen to move to tight end?

The elephant in the room is an obvious one.

Cam Newton and Russell Wilson have helped somewhat alter the narrative for African-American quarterbacks in recent years - though Newton, like Jackson, continues to struggle to lose the questionable "run-first QB" label - but the league's treatment of Jackson shows how much further the sport has to travel when it comes to evaluating black players under center.

Jackson is no stranger to outside doubt. College teams didn't like him as a quarterback, either, and he ultimately revealed them to be foolish for not believing in him.

He can do the same in the NFL. And it starts by refusing any and all requests from teams to work out anywhere other than quarterback.