New York Giants great Justin Tuck thinks these 2 MLB stars could play NFL football
New York Giants great Justin Tuck thinks these 2 MLB stars could play NFL football
Being a professional athlete takes a tremendous amount of hard work and effort, and there has to be some natural athletic talent that provides the foundation. What sport an athlete plays isn't always dependent on what they enjoy, but rather what they are good at.
For instance, Russell Wilson was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2010 and was later acquired by the New York Yankees. Now he's the starting quarterback for the New York Giants.
Wilson isn't the only NFL player to have a baseball career, although the most famous is Bo Jackson. This begs the question, though: Are there any professional baseball players who could make it in the NFL?
Retired Giants defensive end Justin Tuck appeared on The 611 Podcast and was posed this very question.
"On the baseball side, I gotta go with [Aaron] Judge, man. I'm sure there's more, but he's so different than the typical baseball player just looking at him. I would definitely put him as my number one draft pick of a guy who probably could play football," Tuck said.
Tuck goes on to discuss that the 6-foot-7, 282-pound right fielder could potentially be a wide-receiving tight end who is capable of running routes.
"He can use his size, his speed, and I'm assuming he can catch," Tuck said.
Pretty solid assumption about an outfielder, especially one who played football as a wide receiver in high school.
Judge wasn't the only one Tuck picked, though. The other player he mentioned is Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz.
"I feel like Cruz from the Reds. He's just an athlete, like I don't know what position he would play. Wide receiver, safety, whatever, but that dude, his speed, his length. . . He looks like he's not afraid of contact," Tuck said. "He'd be my sleeper."
The conversation continued around what position Cruz could play, and Tuck reiterated that basically, any skill position would suit him. And if you've ever watched Cruz play, you know exactly what he's talking about.
It's unlikely either of these players would ever make the leap to the NFL, but it's always fun to speculate on how athletes would perform in a different game.
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