Could LeBron James Play Tight End in the NFL – Part 4
In the first 3 parts of this series, I’ve looked at whether or not basketball sensation LeBron James could make it as an NFL player. I concluded:
• Size: Yes – at 6ft 8in and 250lb, LeBron James possesses prototypical height and mass to be a unique tight end threat.
• Physical Resilience: Questionable – LeBron has one of the most powerful and resilient bodies in all of sport, but the hits he would be taking would be unlike anything he’s ever experienced.
• Speed: Questionable – LeBron looks fast bringing the ball down the basketball court, but would that translate into open-field speed?
• Vertical Jump: Yes: LeBron would have one of the highest vertical leaps in the league and would have no problem jumping over defensive backs to get the ball.
In the final part, I’ll look at LeBron’s coordination and ball skills.
Football Experience
LeBron actually played football at his high school, St. Vincent-St. Mary. He was a good enough receiver that it’s believed he could have commanded a football scholarship to the program of his choice after his sophomore season. He was being monitored by Ohio State and Notre Dame.
His stats seem to bear out his aptitude for football. We mustn’t forget that this is “only” high school football (the thought of a 6ft 6in LeBron James running at teenage defensive backs is at once funny and a little scary). But he caught 42 passes for 752 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore.
Ball Skills
In terms of pure size, LeBron is a small forward. But he has the ball skills to play point guard (in fact, he’s often referred to as a “point forward”). In the 2010-2011 season (his first for Miami) he often ran the point.
His ball handling skills on the basketball court would translate well to the NFL. He’s able to catch the ball at speed (a must-have if he was playing with a cannon-armed QB like, say, Joe Flacco at Baltimore). And he’s able to protect the ball with opposition point guards try to steal it from him (again, essential in today’s NFL when line backers and safeties are taught to try to strip the ball first and wrap up the ball carrier second).
Football – Basketball Precedent
Probably the strongest case for LeBron being able to handle himself in the NFL is current tight end
Antonio Gates.
Gates has played his entire storied career for the San Diego Chargers, winning 8 Pro Bowl selections and 5 All Pro awards. A few years ago, he was named to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team.
Yet he didn’t even play football at college. Gates played college basketball at Kent State University. When he came to consider his future in the NBA, Gates was told he was too much of a “tweener”: at 6ft 4in he was too short to play shooting guard but not explosive enough to run the point.
No one could argue that Antonio Gates (despite being a superstar in his own right) comes close to being the athlete that LeBron is. If Gates can make it in the NFL, LeBron could take it over.