NFL players’ versatility is rarely matched due to the many different facets of the game. The Kansas City Chiefs have a roster filled with former track runners, a rugby star, and other elite-level multiple sports athletes.
Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. spoke to former NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace about the infamous comments regarding basketball players in the NFL from Austin Rivers, his advice for defensive backs coach Dave Merritt, and his all-time favorite Chiefs starting tight end.
“Let me tell you this; no, it’s too much physical content,” Wallace explained of Rivers’ remarks. “We have physical contact in basketball, but football is extra, so they wear the pads. And so it’s like, Nah, it’s not as easy as he thinks. Just imagine being a DB (Defensive Back), and here it is: I gotta cover either the main receiver, the slot receiver, or the second receiver.
“But every play, this mug is running at least 25, 30 yards downfield, knowing he’s not getting the ball, and then what is he doing, jogging back to the huddle and setting it all up again, like repetition, things like that. It would drive us crazy. But no, it’s a different mindset you have to have with football because you have a different physicality as I can hit you. It’s not a foul, like basketball, a body bump. They will blow that whistle; Austin Rivers was bugging with that.”
Though Wallace disagrees with Rivers’ comments, he expounded on an idea that might help basketball players succeed in the NFL. He explained his unique suggestion to Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt.
“I know a couple of guys that play NFL ball,” Wallace said. “I know coach (Dave) Merritt with the Chiefs. So I told him, Man, one of these days, somebody wants to be smart and draft a basketball player for special teams. If you got a guy who didn’t make the NBA, or he’s not really trying to go overseas, but here he is 6 foot 11, seven feet tall, and he has like a 35 to a 40 inch vertical, all them, 65-67 yard field goals,
“That’s not happening. Yeah, think about it: the further you (The Kicker) are, you gotta level that thing out with that longevity. That’s where that guy who is seven feet tall comes into play. I don’t have to jump over the line. All I gotta do is jump straight.”
The long-time Chiefs fan commented on which team legend he would have as a starting tight end on his fantasy all-time team—Tony Gonzalez or Travis Kelce.
“That’s tough. I’m going to have to go with Kelce because he’s still adding to his mark,” said Wallace. “Hey, barring injury, I think he gonna get him.”
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