Quote:Of course more experience is better than less. But this thread already has a lists of college QBs that successfully moved to other positions and thrived. And then there is Matt Jones who didnt flame out because he wasnt good enough. It's because he was a cokehead. if he had Edelman's work ethic, the guy probably would have made a pro bowl before his career was done.
And those are guys who played football and are just switching positions which is way easier. Think of all the guys that quit playing football for 4 or 5 years, came back, and within a season or two was making big contributions. There is the obvious example of Antonio Gates who didnt even play college football and two years later was the best TE in the game. Jimmy Graham played college basketball for 4 years and used that grad year for one season of college football and then as a rookie was the best TE in the game. Stephen Neal who played 10 years at G for the Patriots never played college football. Was a wrestler in college and two years later was starting in the NFL. And then famously there are guys like Eric Swann who wasnt eligible to play college football, hung out for a few years, and then became a multi-pro bowl OT. Or Ray Seals who didnt play college ball and started for the Steelers through super bowl seasons. Beer Man Michael Lewis didnt even go to college and a few years later set the NFL record for return yardage. And then there are lesser known guys sprinkled throughout the NFL right now like Demetrius Harris who has been on the Chiefs roster hte last couple years and he didnt play college football.
This isnt the NBA where no matter how athletic you are, you have to learn to how to consistently shoot a ball. You dont wake up one day and start shooting 40% from 3. This isnt MLB baseball where you have to learn how to hit a baseball. I dont care how good your eye hand coordination is, you dont wake up and bat 300. You dont wake up one day and join the PGA tour even if you were a good player back in high school. Again other than a handful of positions like QB or K that require repetitive practice, there is no real skill you have to learn before you can play football. Here is the ball, run as fast as you can that way. See that guy, go hit him. See that guy, just run with him and dont let him catch the ball. See that guy, get in his way for 2 seconds so our QB can throw the ball. If you are bigger or stronger or faster than the guy across from you, doesnt matter if you havent done any of those things for a few years, you can learn very quickly and can make an impact very quickly. Unlike other sports, the NFL is almost all size, speed, and athleticism. There are very few people in the world who have the size, speed, strength combinations required to play the specific positions.
Nic Marshall appears to have the requisite athleticism to play DB. The fact that he didnt play DB the last few years is irrelevant. Maybe he'll end up being too dumb to play the position and will get confused when we switch from man to zone. Maybe we'll find out he doesnt have the requisite athleticism and he just cant turn his hips and run. But the fact that he didnt play DB for the last few years is irrelevant. If he is fast enough, quick enough, strong enough, he can learn to play the position.
We aren't talking about someone who has never played the sport before, we are talking about a players switching positions, which of the major sports, is probably the most difficult to do in football.
Baseball players and basketball players routinely play multiple positions in the same game. There are baseball players who were all stars at multiple positions. Magic Johnson scored 42 points and had 15 rebounds filling in a center in the NBA finals.
The skill sets in football don't overlap the same way they do in other sports. It still takes years for football players to adapt to a position that requires a different skill set and be able to play that position at a high level. Way longer than it takes for baseball or basketball to transition to a different position.
