UM's Wortham signs UFA contract with Jaguars

As the 2026 NFL Draft concluded on Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh, two Montana Grizzlies got their chance to play professional football.

Following one if the greatest individual seasons in UM history, All-America wide receiver and return man Michael Wortham signed as an undrafted free agent with the defending AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars shortly after the draft wrapped up. 

Cornerback Kenzel Lawler also earned a shot in the NFL with a camp invite from the Kansas City Chiefs after an elite Pro Day performance in Missoula in early April. 

Wortham — one of the top FCS prospects in this year’s draft as the second-highest rated college wide receiver in the class by Pro Football Focus with a 91.7 offensive grade — watched the third day of the draft with his family in California. 

 The long wait paid off less than an hour after draft wrapped up. 

“Man, it’s a blessing. I can’t believe it. Today marks the day I get to start writing my story for my kids and everyone else in my family I can help motivate. This is just nothing short of a blessing,” Wortham said. “Now I’ve just got to keep my head down and keep working. I’ve been overlooked all my life, so this is just another steppingstone. I just got to overcome and prove people wrong.”

Wortham started at Sierra College where in two years he was named section MVP and became a Ju-Co All-American. From there it was two years at Eastern Washington where he became one of the most versatile players in the Big Sky Conference.

Then in one year at Montana he burst on the national scene, rewriting the UM record books on offense and special teams, and eventually becoming a consensus All-American and a Walter Payton Award Finalist in 2025.

He set a new single-season school record with 2,431 all-purpose yards, finishing only 90 yards shy of the single-season Big Sky record. He caught 85 passes for 1,224 yards, the second-most catches in a season ever at UM (by just two) and the sixth-most total yards receiving. His 782 yards of kickoff returns are also the third most ever at UM and making him one of just five players with more than 700 in a year. 

Wortham was selected to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl in January and was the only receiver named to the East squad’s All-Practice team at the end of the week. He also participated in the inaugural AFCA FCS Showcase, an NFL Combine-style event held in conjunction with the FCS national championship in Nashville.

He returned to Missoula and had a stellar afternoon at Montana’s Pro Day in early April. His explosiveness on the field translated to the gym where posted an eye-popping 37.5-inch vertical jump and a three-cone drill time of 6.75 that would have been the second-fastest time among all receivers at the combine. 

Lawler also had an elite Pro Day, performing well in multiple events. He started with the biggest vertical jump of the day at 39.5-inches – a top seven jump for corners at the combine. He followed that up with a 10’ 8” broad jump (a top 10 combine mark) and 6.84 seconds in the 3-cone drill – the fastest mark for a corner at the combine.