Would LeBron James Make It In The NFL?

He is in fact an amazing athlete. I would even bet he could learn to catch passes quicker than some. But how is he going to react to a hard hitting safety laying him out?
All too often one thing that seems to be overlooked is the amazing tolerance to pain that these NFL players have developed over time. The stray elbows and knee knocks and shoulder jostling that NBA players take is nothing compared to the hits that these NFL players take.

 

Had Lebron chose football over basketball in HS, I have no doubt he would have been able to make it in the NFL. The dude was all-state as a SO WR at SVSM. He was unreal, could outrun most everyone, and outmuscle and outjump any defender. He would literally jump over guys to make a catch.

 

LeBron is amazing,, he simply carries that Cavs team on his back..

I'd like to see him as a Tight End, though I think it would be crazyness to abandon basketball at this stage of his career..

 

Lets see, 6'7 265 lbs, runs a 4'5 with a 50 inch vertical with hands twice the size of mine.

He would be the best tight end ever to play if he had the desire imo..

 

Seriously? He is 6'8" and around 275 pounds. More than likely he will not be layed out that much. Tackled? Yes. But layed out? Not really. Also, im pretty sure he could handle it. Basketball players do tend to fall on hardwood floor alot, without padding. Im not taking anything away from the game of football becuase i play it and i truly think it is the most physical sport there is but im almost certain he could handle being hit.

 

I think he's way too big to play WR. The NFL takes so much more out of your knees than the NBA does, and receivers with that much weight tend to break down whether it's muscle or not.

Tight End would be interesting but I'm not sure he can block....maybe he could though if he trained it up.

 

I bet he could play as a very good 3-4 OLB. He would be the quickest LB in the league probably and just as strong as anyone else and would probably get a **** load of pass deflections

 

But can he tackle?

 

Yes, seriously. Had I not been serious then I might have included a smiley. Sarcasm isn't necessary. You may have a different opinion than I do which is fine.
According to the Cavs' site James is 250 not 275.
http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/roster/
Which is a pretty typical size for a TE and I have seen many a TE get layed out but good by a safety or LB.
Falling on a hardwood floor is nothing like getting hit by a 215# man running at you full speed. Or a 250# LB

 

Your first post and this one are still a little bit off the mark. LBJ was all-state WR as a SO and then led SVSM to the state championship when he was a JR. Like I said, had he chose to play football instead of basketball (he stopped playing football as a SR because his basketball career in the NBA was already set by then) there is little doubt he'd be able to make it in the NFL. He would have been able to go to pretty much any school he wanted to had he kept playing football (just like he could've if he played bball in college). He would hold up against LBs and Ss just as well as most other TEs in the NFL (if that is where he played as a pro) and probably better than most WRs.

 

I did know he played football in HS, but I must admit I didn't realize he fared so well. Nonetheless, the above highlighted are highly speculative, IMO.
First of all lots of HS stars find themselves back in the middle of the pack in college. But even excelling in college is no guarantee an athlete will succeed at the pro level. Maybe he would do well..maybe not.
That said, my original post simply stated that he may not be okay with NFL level hits..ie: "how will he react?"..
You may be convinced that it wouldn't present any problems, but I'm not. I'm certainly not saying anything one way or the other; merely questioning.
Look at our Dolphins for a minute..Ted Ginn has seemed a little gun shy at times. Chris Chambers, a few years back looked a little hesitant to go across the middle after that big hit in Denver.
NFL hits can be devastatingly painful even if there is no injury involved.
So again LeBron James is a gifted basketball player. But whether or not he could withstand the physical demands required week in and week out to play in the NFL is still a question mark.

 

I have two words for you.
Bo. Jackson.

 

I think he would make one excellent Wide Receiver/Tight End/H-Back.

 

Neither Bo Jackson's success, nor Dieon Sanders' is evidence that LeBron James could take the beating that an NFL player takes on a regular basis.
The only fact is that there is no empirical evidence to support either side. So any speculation is merely that - speculation.
Myself, I've not made the statement that he couldn't play in the NFL. I've only said that in spite of his athletic ability, whether or not he could play in the NFL is a question mark.

 

No; I agree with you. Bo Jackson never became the baseball player that he was a football player.

 

Lebron is NOT 250 - I don't care what the site says. He weighed in at 274 last time they got him on a scale and if anything he has gotten bigger since then.

Huge Cavs fan from Cleveland here - trust me - Lebron hasn't been 250 for a few years. And 6'7" is low too - he is probably closer to 6'9" than 6'7".