National Football League

How would LeBron James stack up in the NFL, against other tight ends?

Published Sep. 28, 2021 4:17 p.m. ET

Who would deny that LeBron James is an athlete extraordinaire?

"The King" has a résumé that includes future NBA Hall of Famer, philanthropist, businessman and actor — and according to James, NFL player could very well have been one of the jobs on his laundry list of professional activities.

On Monday night's "Manningcast," a "Monday Night Football" simulcast featuring in-depth commentary from Peyton and Eli Manning, James made a special guest appearance. A known Cowboys fan, he talked X's and O's with the duo before revealing that he was presented with a real opportunity to lace up his cleats at the pro level during the 2011 NBA lockout.

James' name has been linked with the NFL for several years, and he has made headlines on the possibility alone. A gargantuan figure at 6-foot-8, 250 pounds, LBJ would be imposing even on the gridiron.

According to James, he was offered a chance to play with both the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks during the lockout.

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"We were able to get a deal done in the NBA, and I was back on the court in no time, but I definitely thought about it," James said. "I still got the [jerseys] that Jerry and Pete sent me."

Just one look at James' high school highlights is enough to make fans wonder what could've been.

James played wide receiver in high school, though it's likely that he would've moved to tight end at the next level, given his frame. It's also likely that he would've been a nightmarish threat to game-plan against, given the average size of an NFL defensive back: 6 feet, 200 pounds.

But in the eyes of one Hall of Fame tight end, King James might not have exercised such a dominant reign on the NFL as outside viewers might think.

"It's just hard for me to see a scenario where a guy has not played a sport in a decade-plus, switch positions and then play a professional sport," Shannon Sharpe said on Tuesday's episode of "Undisputed."

"A tough NBA player is not the same as a tough NFL player. A tough NFL player is not the same as a tough MMA fighter or a boxer. You're gonna ask LeBron to be a tight end. At that time: Jared Allen, J.J. Watt, DeMarcus Ware, Von Miller, Aldon Smith — those are some of the guys that he's going to be going up against. I would need to see it to believe it."

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Skip Bayless had other thoughts.

"Do you realize how tall he would be compared to everybody else?" Bayless asked.

"If you took LeBron, with his athletic build, his leaping ability and his competitive nature, and just made him a red-zone target … it would be very difficult to keep him from coming down with the football. I don't think you're giving him enough credit."

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James would've easily been among the tallest receivers/tight ends to ever suit up in an NFL game. Only one man – 6-foot-8 Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael – has caught passes for an NFL team at that height.

To put James' size into perspective, he's at least 2 inches taller than Antonio Gates and George Kittle (6-foot-4), Tony Gonzalez, Kellen Winslow Sr. and Travis Kelce (6-foot-5), and Rob Gronkowski and Darren Waller (6-foot-6). The heaviest of this bunch is Gronk, who weighs in at 265 pounds. The average height/weight of the top 20 tight ends in receiving yards last season was 6-foot-4 11/12" and 251.95 pounds.

But none of those men could jump like the kid from Akron. Since 2000, the highest recorded vertical leap by a tight end is 43.5 inches, notched by Dorin Dickerson in 2010. James has been clocked at 44.

For Colin Cowherd, there is no question as to whether James would've succeeded.

"LeBron James would've been an exceptional NFL player," Cowherd said on "The Herd." "LeBron has a prototype in the NFL [Jimmy Graham]. And he would be bigger, stronger, faster and jump higher than that prototype."

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The basketball to football route is more common than one might think. Several athletes in recent years have played college basketball before signing with NFL teams, including the aforementioned Gates and Gonzalez, Jimmy Graham, Rico Gathers, Julius Peppers, Julius Thomas and Mark Vital.

The King's athletic attributes are undeniable, but one question remains: What would happen when he got hit? As Mike Tyson once said, "Everybody's got a plan until they get punched in the mouth."

That question is answerless up to this point. For now, fans with dreams of seeing the fantasy come to fruition will have to be satisfied with blasts from James' football past.

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