As sports fans, half the fun always is based on the future. What is meant by that? How many times are you wondering to yourself, “Could you imagine if my team had this player, or if that player played this position?” We all do it, but the most engaging debates in sports are hypothetical. How many times have you said to a friend: “Derrick Rose would be a star receiver, he’s 6’3″, 200 pounds with a 40 inch vertical leap and a 6’8″ wingspan.”
You are not the only one. Sports fans everywhere wonder about these things every day, so without further ado, here are five athletes who could be playing other sports.
Zdeno Chara – Basketball
Chara is the tallest player in the National Hockey League at 6’9, and weighs in at 255 pounds. As the story is told, Chara’s coaches told him when he was young that he would be better off playing basketball. I’m sure the Boston Celtics would love to have his presence under the hoop. Wait…does he already play for them?
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LeBron James – Football
This is one that has been discussed for years. Remember the rumors of LeBron playing football for the Cleveland Browns?
That commercial is obviously fictional, but fans everywhere would love to see James play football. Why? He may be the best athlete on the planet right now. James stands at 6’9″ and 265 pounds, but he is always the fastest player on the court, and the strongest, and he can jump the highest.
James is said to run a 40 yard dash in 4.6 seconds, which would make him the most versatile athlete in the NFL. Think about it this way. James is four inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than Calvin Johnson, but is only 0.3 seconds slower than him, and has an even better vertical leap.
C.C. Sabathia – Football
The prototypical size for an NFL left tackle is 6’7″ and over 300 pounds, depending on who you ask. Sabathia is 6’7″ and he weighs over 300 pounds towards the end of the season. Being a pitcher, Sabathia has good feet, and he played football in high school where he received a scholarship to UCLA. But, if he continues to stay as “Skinny C.C” he could return to his his school position as a tight end. Could you imagine a 6’7″, 285 pound (C.C.’s listed weight) monster running down the seam towards the end zone?
Adam Dunn – Football
Dunn is one of the biggest players in the major leagues at 6’6″ and 285 pounds, and he can hit a baseball farther than most humans on this planet. Check this out:
But before Dunn was blasting home runs over 500 feet, he was a high school quarterback in Texas. Dunn had a scholarship to play at University of Texas, as he threw for 44 touchdowns as a high school quarterback.
According to JockBio…
Dunn stood well over six feet, weighed in at more than 200 pounds and posted sub-4.5 times in the 40-yard dash. He called signals for [his high school team] during the football season.
Imagine a guy his size playing quarterback in the NFL. Dunn would have been in the same category as Cam Newton as far as size and athletic ability, although Cam may be a fit faster. Can Dunn deal with contact? Well, in the video below he was walking and delivered this shot to Carlos Santana, imagine what he can do at full-speed.
Vernon Davis – Anything
“What do you mean, anything?”
Davis is an athletic specimen, there is no other way to describe him. He stands at 6’3″ and 250 pounds and is full of muscle. At the combine, Davis ran a 4.38 40-yard dash, jumped 10 feet 8 inches in the broad jump and had a ridiculous vertical leap of 42 inches.
Davis is not your average professional athlete who is just “chiseled,” he may be the most athletic, and physically cut human being we have ever seen. At 250 pounds, he has four percent body fat. Four! That is ridiculous in itself.
But can he play other sports? Davis was a letter-winner in high school in three sports: football, basketball, and track and field. He was a champion high-jumper and a stout basketball player in addition to one of the top prospects in the country in football. Davis played tight end, wide receiver, defensive end, linebacker, and special teams for the football team and can still do this in the NFL.
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Photo: ESPN.com