New Orleans Pelicans: Which Player Could Jump to Another Sport?

Who Could Play a Different Sport?

If I thought multiple players could play the same position in a different sport, I only included the player I’m guessing would be better. This is to get rid of repetitive “analysis” and try to be less boring.

Zion Williamson – Defensive End

Let’s start with the biggest name first. As mentioned before Zion Williamson will not be a tight end although he stays in the sport of football. Zion was offered a football scholarship with LSU in the fall of 2016 but he obviously did not accept and instead starred at Duke University as a freshman.

Zion’s 6-foot-6, 285 lbs frame is close to JJ Watt’s (6-foot-5, 289 lbs) and that’s with a basketball body. If Zion were to spend a summer in the gym and get into football shape he would weigh more but it would all be muscle. He skipped the tests at the NBA combine so we’ll have to just use what we saw in action to judge how his skills would translate.

Zion lining up across from the right tackle and rushing the edge would strike fear into every quarterback in the NFL. We’ve seen Zion use his spin move against taller NBA defenders to get around them, he’d be able to carry that move with him to the NFL. If there was a tackle nimble enough to keep up with Zion he could use his added strength to bull rush and overpower them.

With his leaping ability the quarterback would have a nearly impossible time getting the ball above Zion and accurately to a receiver. We’ve also seen that Zion is capable of getting steals with active hands, he’d keep that up and rack up the knockdowns each game.

When Zion debuted in summer league we saw his ability to steal the ball from a player who’s secured it. That would be on display if he got his hands on a ball carrier in the NFL, while being able to hold them up he could strip and secure the ball.

Lonzo Ball – Quarterback

Lonzo Ball actually has professional football history in his family’s past; his father, Lavar, was on the practice squads of the New York Jets (tight end) and Carolina Panthers (defensive end) before going to play for the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football.

While it would be easy to have him play the same positions as his father did, that eliminates Lonzo’s best skill from his game. Lonzo is one of the best passers in the NBA routinely throwing full court passes with precision and accuracy.

The average NFL quaterback is 6-foot-3, 225 lbs. Lonzo is listed at 6-foot-6 190 lbs (perfect for Denver). He’d need to add some weight to protect against the hits he would absorb during a game. Lonzo would be able to see over most offensive lines and has the type of mobility rarely seen at the position.

We’ve seen Lonzo complete full court passes pretty frequently, an NBA court is 84 feet or 28 yards. Any complaints about Lonzo’s ability to throw a deep ball don’t carry any weight as he isn’t throwing a basketball as hard as he could and gets it down the court with ease.

Lonzo’s size and athletic ability make him nearly impossible to compare to any quarterback who’s played the game, with one exception, Cam Newton, and Lonzo is actually taller than Newton by one inch. Ball could play with a similar style as Russell Wilson, escape pressure and use his legs to create space, and be even more dangerous as a runner than Wilson.