Here’s an idea for the HBO executives looking for a fresh spin for the long-running summer series Hard Knocks: Film the New York Giants’ quarterbacks room as they revive their baseball dreams.
Yes, they’re busy with training camp for the upcoming NFL season. But filming Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston at a local baseball training facility in New Jersey before and after football practice would be TV gold. Countless pep talks and strange workouts leading up to another big-league shot for 30-something quarterbacks who were once MLB draftees. Rookie Jaxson Dart and Tommy DeVito can also be a part of the reality TV show, with both Giants quarterbacks having played baseball before focusing on football.
This TV show pitch basically sells itself, but Giants owner John Mara and GM Joe Schoen probably wouldn’t sign off on it after how poorly it went for them the last time they agreed to have TV cameras at the facility.
Oh, well. We can at least highlight the baseball background of the Giants’ quarterbacks.
In honor of Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game (and after I recently wrote about NFL players who could have played in the NBA), here are the five active NFL players who were drafted by MLB teams. We also have five NFL players who could have played baseball professionally in a different life. Or maybe it’s not too late.
C’mon, TV executives, sign off on the pitch above. … Another Shot at Baseball Love.
Active NFL players drafted by MLB teams
Kyler Murray, Cardinals: Murray is the rare athlete who can say he was a first-round pick in two of the four major men’s professional sports leagues in the United States. A year before becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL draft, Murray was selected No. 9 by the Oakland Athletics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmFw4F0Ajf0
Murray was a standout outfielder at the University of Oklahoma, where he also won the Heisman Trophy for his football exploits. Before his college football success, Murray was set on playing for the A’s, accepting a $4.66 million signing bonus before having to give it back when entering his name in the NFL draft. The 27-year-old is still young enough to attempt the feat of being a two-way star in the NFL and MLB.
Russell Wilson, Giants: Wilson had serious aspirations of one day playing in the big leagues as a former minor league player of the Colorado Rockies, who drafted the Super Bowl–winning quarterback in the fourth round of the 2010 draft. As a second baseman, Wilson appeared in 61 games for the Rockies’ Class A affiliate in 2011, one year before the Seattle Seahawks took him in the third round.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rQi5HypHl0
Wilson made the right decision to play football over baseball, but his baseball skills have helped him on the football field throughout his 13-year career. And it all worked out because Wilson got a taste of the big leagues when he made an at-bat with the Yankees during a spring training exhibition in 2018.
Jameis Winston, Giants: Winston has had many highs and lows in his NFL career, starting 70 games for the Buccaneers, who made him the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft, before becoming a journeyman backup. Winston also won a national title and the Heisman Trophy as the star signal-caller for Florida State.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSXXJ8X_mwM
With that kind of success, it was evident that Winston was bound for the NFL, but he was a talented two-way star coming out of high school in Alabama and was selected by the Rangers in the 15th round of the 2012 draft. The Rangers reportedly told Winston they would allow him to play college football while he developed through their minor league system as a relief pitcher and outfielder. Winston declined, but he continued playing baseball at Florida State.
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs: Mahomes followed in his father’s footsteps, playing baseball in high school and for one year at Texas Tech. Mahomes was drafted by the Tigers in the 37th round in 2014, three years before the Chiefs altered the course of their franchise by moving up to No. 10 to draft the son of Pat Mahomes Sr., who pitched for six different MLB teams in the 1990s and early 2000s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqG2-SweDJ4
The younger Mahomes made the right decision to go with football, winning three Super Bowls and two MVPs in the past eight years.
Shaq Thompson, Bills: Quarterbacks aren’t the only football players who can play on the diamond. Thompson was drafted by the Red Sox in the 18th round of the 2012 draft, three years before the Panthers took the linebacker in the first round.
Thompson had a rough stint playing for the Red Sox’s rookie-level team, striking out 37 times in 39 at-bats. However, Thompson made up for that by recording 752 career tackles in 123 games played with the Panthers over the past 10 seasons. He’s still going strong as a recent signee of the Bills.
Active NFL players with MLB potential
Joe Flacco, Browns: If a middled-aged Flacco can get off his couch to guide the Browns to the postseason and capture the Comeback Player of the Year award in five games, he can surely at least be a pinch-hitter or reliever in the big leagues. Look at these hacks Flacco had a few years back during a celebrity softball game with his former Ravens teammates.
Before winning a Super Bowl with Baltimore, Flacco was a standout baseball and football player for his high school in New Jersey.
Lamar Jackson, Ravens: Jackson doesn’t have a baseball background, but it’s almost a given that his elite athleticism would help him carve out a role on the diamond, even if he’s creating chaos on the base paths as a pinch runner. NFL defenders would love to see the two-time MVP leave the football field to become a headache for big-league pitchers.
Jaxson Dart, Giants: Not only can Dart learn from Wilson and Winston on how to be a quarterback in the NFL, he can take baseball pointers from the former MLB draftees. Dart mentioned in this interview that he expected to play baseball in college before gaining more attention from football programs.
CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys: The receptions machine would catch anything in the outfield, but his physical gifts wouldn’t just make him a future Gold Glover. He could also be the guy who trash-talks from the dugout and plays practical jokes on his teammates. Look how much fun Lamb and new Cowboys teammate George Pickens had together during Murray’s celebrity softball game earlier this year. Now, let’s see what the duo does on the football field this fall.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Best Baseball Players in the NFL: Giants’ QB Room Filled With MLB Talent .
