Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

Im not just saying that I think Lebron would be the reciever in the NFL but that he would be the very best player in the NFL, possibly of all time. I think the receiver is the most fungible part of the NFL offense and that their skill set is easily aquirable by most NBA players.

I will even go as far to say that I believe he could step into the league right now without any practice and be unstoppable.

So how good do you think he is?

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

I have no idea.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

no

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

Not even close

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

No receiver in the NFL is as valuable as Peyton Manning. Lebron wouldn't even come close to those standards.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

If he had played football his entire life and gained about 30 pounds I'd bet he would be a force at tight end. I don't see him playing as a receiver (not fast enough). Right now in his current condition he would be killed in the NFL, he doesn't have enough bulk for his height. Taking a hit from someone like Brian Dawkins would cause serious damage.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

He wouldnt even get off the line of scrimmage if he entered the NFL as a wideout right now. It's retarded to make this thread/poll if you aren't going to include an option that says "no [censored] way"

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

He's tall and athletic, that's about it. He can't run routes, he probably isn't fast enough, and he probably can't take a hit. As others said he could have probably played TE if he played previously and picked up a few pounds. Your statement is laughable and unsupported

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

I always wondered how Shaq would fair as a tight end?

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

If he played his whole life he might have the chance. Right now, cut after a few days. Take a look at Marvin Harrison run some routes and then try to tell me that its just athleticism and not great technique that these guys have.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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I always wondered how Shaq would fair as a tight end?

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I think his size in his Orlando days could would have been better suited for a DE if he had played football. Tall and freakishly athletic, I'm sure someone like that would be a nightmare batting balls down

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

This is just ridiculous. Not everyone is Antonio Gates.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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I always wondered how Shaq would fair as a tight end?

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I think his size in his Orlando days could would have been better suited for a DE if he had played football. Tall and freakishly athletic, I'm sure someone like that would be a nightmare batting balls down

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He probably doesn't have the raw speed to be a DE with that size and mass. If he had the reflexes and the agility to defend the blind side, he could be a great LT.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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I always wondered how Shaq would fair as a tight end?

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I think his size in his Orlando days could would have been better suited for a DE if he had played football. Tall and freakishly athletic, I'm sure someone like that would be a nightmare batting balls down

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He probably doesn't have the raw speed to be a DE with that size and mass. If he had the reflexes and the agility to defend the blind side, he could be a great LT.

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Shaq would be a special teams superstar on the Field Goal block team.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

LeBron would be too slow to be a WR.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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LeBron would be too slow to be a WR.

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I don't agree that he would be too slow for a receiver. As a matter of fact LeBron is fast, but in NBA talk its called quickness. He is one of the quickest players in the league. Unfortunatly I don't have his 40 times. But lets put it this way, his vertical leap is legendary. In athletes talk, vertical leap is usually sign that the athlete has high proportion of fast twitch muscle fibers, similar to sprinters. Sorry for the messy mumbo jumbo thought process, but seriously lets not call LeBron slow. That is all.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

I'd be really curious to see 40 times for NBA players.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

i still don't think he could just step into the NFL and dominate. i agree with someone who mentioned 'technique', that is very important. this is why you always see olympic 100 meter stars try out for the NFL but rarely make it.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

Personally, I voted for average NFL wideout on LeBron. I just think he'd be tough to defend on the long go routes, regardless of his speed, and he'd be impossible to defend in the red zone.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

All,

On the football field, Lebron would be slow and get lit up. His center of gravity is redonk high. Polamalu would put him on a stretcher first time he use his "legendary vertical" to try to grab one in the middle of the field.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

After LeBron makes the Pro Bowl in the NFL, I guess his next mission could be to jump in the ring with Bas Rutten.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

I'm pretty sure he was an all state wr in hs.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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All,

On the football field, Lebron would be slow and get lit up. His center of gravity is redonk high. Polamalu would put him on a stretcher first time he use his "legendary vertical" to try to grab one in the middle of the field.

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there are at least a dozen WR's 6'5ish. Leron is 3 inches taller. im still not saying he could play in the NFL. but I don't think the reasons are his speed nor height. Antonio gates is a rarity in the NFL, as far as not playing college football but also in the sports crossover sense.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

Do you guys realize he was a prodigy football player in high school?

If football was his focus, he would be in the NFL easy.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

How about Lebron for quarterback? This guy has incredible vision.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

why not pro-bowl reciever without being best reciever.... also he was the number one recieving prospect coming out of high school

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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This is just ridiculous. Not everyone is Antonio Gates.

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your a moron... he could obviously be atleast an above average reciever within a year


now quarterback or something, that's an interesting debate

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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I'm pretty sure he was an all state wr in hs.

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Sure, but that was 6 years ago, when he was a sophomore in high school. Besides, he was probably more of the size of an ideal WR then - 6'5" is about the highest you'll see any WR go these days. If you're 6'8" the only place you're going is the Line of Scrimmage.

By the way, I think I remember a study by FO a year ago about WR height, and it's actually negatively correlated with WR value (in this case DPAR). That's right - the shorter receivers were more valuable. This is obviously a case of selection bias - only the best short receivers are drafted, and every tall one is - but it's evidence that playing WR isn't an easy skill to acquire, and any basketball player can switch sports easy.

But think about it - who are the best receivers in the NFL now? Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Chad Johnson, Steve Smith, Santana Moss, Lee Evans, Terry Glenn, Marques Colston, Larry Fitzgerald, Laveranues Coles, Roy Williams) - that seems to be a good list, probably missing a few guys.

Most of them are 5-11, 6-0, or 6-1. A few are lower (Smith, S. Moss) and a few are higher (Colston, Fitz, Roy Williams).

Hell, Jerry Rice was only 6-2.

The most important thing for any player is football intelligence, not height or speed or anything like that. Everybody's got that in the NFL.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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Do you guys realize he was a prodigy football player in high school?

If football was his focus, he would be in the NFL easy.

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Well, Allen Iverson was also a prodigy football player in high school. His game wouldn't translate either.

Aside from that, it was a long time ago, and he's probably sprouted a few inches. He's probably too tall to feasibly play the position.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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Do you guys realize he was a prodigy football player in high school?

If football was his focus, he would be in the NFL easy.

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He was forced to quit after his sophmore? year if I remember correctly. From what I read in the Cleveland Plain Dealer is that he was a beast though. With his size he probably would have been a TE though.

EDIT: maybe not forced but I don't remember the exact details. Just didn't want him to get injured because they realized his potential.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

All,

Sean Taylor was a beast in the Miami-Dade area at RB. His skillz couldn't carry to a top D1 program and I feel his have much more carryover.

Not to mention highschool -> college -> NFL are not even in the same sentence some of the greatest players at each level don't even make the next.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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I always wondered how Shaq would fair as a tight end?

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I think his size in his Orlando days could would have been better suited for a DE if he had played football. Tall and freakishly athletic, I'm sure someone like that would be a nightmare batting balls down

[/ QUOTE ]

He probably doesn't have the raw speed to be a DE with that size and mass. If he had the reflexes and the agility to defend the blind side, he could be a great LT.

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Shaq would be a special teams superstar on the Field Goal block team.

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I've always thought that an NFL team should waste a roster spot on a freakishly tall kick blocker. I bet a Shawn Bradley type guy could get his fair share of blocks.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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I'm pretty sure he was an all state wr in hs.

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Sure, but that was 6 years ago, when he was a sophomore in high school. Besides, he was probably more of the size of an ideal WR then - 6'5" is about the highest you'll see any WR go these days. If you're 6'8" the only place you're going is the Line of Scrimmage.

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I don't buy your argument at all. He doesn't lose any value as a WR because he grew 3 inches. Most WR's are less than 6'5" because the combination of quickness, speed, acceleration, and agility required to be WR are usually not found in extremely tall people. James is a physical freak, who is very quick on the basketball floor. How would you defend Lebron on the football field? With a safety, or a tiny corner? You think he wouldn't be quick or strong enough to get open if jammed? Or do you think it would be easier to play off him and let him work underneath? He obviously has good hands, and his footwork and overall coordination lead me to think that he could run decent enough routes with a little practice.

This isn't Jordan trying to hit a curveball. I think James would be tough to defend, and at the very least would be an improvement over most teams' number 2 WR. I could see him being a pro bowl WR within a couple years.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

I think he would be an NFL caliber player if he had stuck to football. He couldn't step on to the field today and be productive tomorrow, obviously. If he started football today, I think it's possible that he could be productive in a couple of years.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

Not even close. Urlacher would get killed. LeBron is a phenomenal athlete. If he'd grown up playing football instead of basketball he'd have been a star in the NFL. He probably could have played WR/QB/S? There are a ton of sport specific skill and knowledge he is missing that would prevent him from being a threat if he were to try and just switch over now. He might make a team, but it would necessitate someone spending a lot of time with him teaching him WR, the only position I could see him realistically having a shot at at this point.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

Check your sarcasm detector. I think it's broken.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

Jack is right. I only have a weak analogy to share:

the second best player on our high school baketball team (6 foot 6, all time leading rebounder/7th best scorer at his Div I school, also high level pitching prospect) came out to play football with us. he was maybe the fastest sprinter on the team (through 100m, not in the 40)

he was a ridiculous WR, but that's b/c he was taller, faster, and more athletic than anyone else. he also had great hands.

but he wouldn't have these advantages in the NFL, which is filled with the best athletes in the world. you need tremendous athletic ability + football smarts + years of honed skills to be the best at that level.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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Not even close. Urlacher would get killed. LeBron is a phenomenal athlete. If he'd grown up playing football instead of basketball he'd have been a star in the NFL.

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As others mentioned, he did grow up playing football. Many HS atheletes play multiple sports. Lebron played football and basketball.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

an interesting parallel might be Matt Jones, who is 6 foot 6, and 240lb. He played Div 1 basketball, and did not play WR at Arkansas. I would wager a large amount he is a whole lot faster than Lebron James, though, with similar amount of "pure athletic ability".

In Jones' rookie season he recorded 36 catches, 432 receiving yards, and 5 touchdowns.

given that Jones was already playing football, and has a body type better suited for football, I think that represents the highest level of what Lebron could do in his first couple years.

Re: Lebron James - Best Player in NFL
 

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Check your sarcasm detector. I think it's broken.

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Pokerfink, I didn't think the question was serious, but I didn't know whether or not the 6 votes for LeBron vs. the NFL were serious.

Also, I know he was a receiver for a couple of years in HS (maybe just his sophomore year?)... but that gives him 5-6 years less experience (not counting anything before HS) then the average player entering the draft.

Anyway, its not like I was saying he couldn't make the NFL. Just that he would have a lot of learning to do first.