Jason Kelce Thinks LeBron James Could Make It In The NFL, Would Be 'Greatest Redzone Threat' In The League
The yearly debate of whether NBA players could make it in the NFL, and vice versa, has broken out across social media and former Super Bowl champion Jason Kelce has entered the conversation. According to Kelce, only a few NBA players could make it in the league, but LeBron James is certainly one of those guys who could thrive.
Former NBA player Austin Rivers was responsible for kick starting the conversation last week when he jumped on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ and said, "I can take 30 players right now from the NBA and throw them in the NFL, but you cannot take 30 NFL players and put them in the NBA."
Given that we're in that strange couple of months stretch on the calendar where there isn't a ton to discuss in the NFL, both current and former NFL players jumped in on the debate more heavily than NBA players.
ESPN analyst Ryan Clark was one of the former NFL players to share his opinion of the situation.
"There are NBA players athletic enough to play "Professional football", but there ain’t 30… & there isn’t 5 tough enough. The football mentality is built like a callus. It’s much like the skill of a Hooper," Clark wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
![LeBron James blames the refs after the Lakers blow a 20 point lead and lose to the Nuggets in the playoffs. Watch a video of his comments. (Credit: USA Today Sports Network)](http://images.outkick.com/static.outkick.com/www.outkick.com/content/uploads/2024/04/668/376/72f018b0-LeBron-James-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
(Credit: USA Today Sports Network)
Kelce caught wind of Clark's take, and while he did agree with the sentiment, he made sure to note that James would need just one season before becoming one of the greatest threats in the NFL.
"I love this argument and passion from Ryan, and as a football player my mind is screaming hell yea!!!" he wrote.
"But, if I was an NFL GM, and it was an option, I'd sign Lebron today and within one offseason he'd be the greatest redzone threat in the NFL," Kelce continued.
READ: Jason Kelce 'Virtually Guarantees' He Has CTE, Antonio Brown Weighs In
LeBron James is six-foot-nine and can move with the best of them. The soon-to-be 40-year-old version of James may not thrive in an NFL redzone these days, but it's hard to argue against the idea that the in-his-prime version of James wouldn't have had some sort of success catching passes against smaller defensive backs.
Back in 2021, James shared that the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks offered him a contract in 2011 during the NBA lockout.
James played wide receiver in high school and found success before hanging up his cleats to focus on basketball, which was certainly a wise decision by the future Hall of Famer.