Controversial yes, but also correct
Former nBA player Austin Rivers caused a stir this past week when he said on Pat McAfee’s show, “i can take 30 players right now in the nBA and throw them in the nFL. You cannot
and many other current and former nFL players took issue with rivers’s statement. “i watched him say he quit football after one day because it was too hot and the coach was yelling at him,” said former patriots receiver
Phillip Dorsett, who played in the same athletic circles as rivers while growing up in Florida.
the thing is, though, rivers is right. of the four major pro sports, football is the least reliant on skill (outside of quarterback) and most reliant on height, weight, and speed. n.c. state basketball player D.J. Burns was asked several times during march madness whether he would consider trying out for the nFL. it is unfathomable to think that an athlete could get drafted into the nBA, nHL or mLB without having played the sport before.
Antonio Gates is a soon-to-be Hall of Fame tight end who played college basketball, not football. Jimmy Graham was a struggling college basketball player who switched to football for one year, got drafted in the third round, and also might be headed for canton. the eagles’ Jordan Mailata had never played football before the eagles drafted him in 2018, and now is the third-highestpaid left tackle in the game.
this year, the Bills drafted tackle Travis Clayton in the seventh round even though he has never played the sport.
nFL broadcaster Ross Tucker conceded that rivers is generally correct but argued that transitioning from football to basketball is “way more complicated” than rivers gives it credit for. “With no technique and training, they wouldn’t get off the line of scrimmage,” tucker said.
Fair point, but nFL teams surely would sign nBA players to their practice squads sight unseen. And it wouldn’t take long for some to thrive. gates, who didn’t play college football, was first-team All-pro by his second nFL season. graham, with one year in college, was second-team All-pro in his second nFL season.
if anything, rivers’s estimate of 30 players (out of 450 in the nBA) might