Kwon Alexander: Best Athlete
December 16th, 2015
Best athlete?
So you figure a lineman may be the strongest and a cornerback the quickest (Mike Jenkins, perhaps?), but which Bucs player is the best athlete?
ESPN penned a recent column on Cam Newton and athletes and, after much hang-wringing and beers guzzled, have come to the conclusion that middle linebacker Kwon Alexander is the best athlete on the Bucs..
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: You easily make a case for wide receiver Mike Evans, who was a basketball player before football, or QB Jameis Winston, who was a two-sport athlete at Florida State. But the best athlete on the Bucs is rookie linebacker Kwon Alexander, who has the combination of speed and hitting ability. His play against in the first Atlanta game sealed it, when he raced down Julio Jones from behind and stripped the ball from the Pro Bowler.
Now this is interesting and really, there can be no right answer.
Had Jameis been allowed to pursue baseball all along with football, he very well could have pitched in the major leagues. As a closer, Jameis was damned good, boasting a 1.08 ERA with a fastball in the mid-90s. No less an authority than Baseball America projected Jameis to be a first round pick had football not gotten in the way.
But few consider baseball players athletes, so there’s that.
Alexander is an interesting choice by Brown. He’s strong and he is damned fast, two hallmarks of an athlete.
Joe would probably have to side with Evans. Remember, Evans was a high school basketball star and could have gone a long way had, like Joe wrote about Jameis, football not gotten in the way.
Joe may loathe the NBA, but that sport has the best athletes. You have to be quick, you have to be strong, you have to be able to jump, you have to have excellent hand-to-eye coordination and you very much have to have supreme stamina.
Roll all that up into one, and you have an athlete. This is also why Joe is not impressed with dunks. Joe has seen 6-2 farmboys dunk in high school. So some of the best athletes in the world at 6-7 dunking? Yawn. Not impressed.
Sort of like Taylor Swift hanging with a bunch of Hooters Calendar girls. You may be cute Taylor, but you’re no Hooters Calendar girl.
December 16th, 2015 at 8:18 am
Kwon is a certifiable beast and will only get better. I see Evans as having a lower ceiling. As long as he keeps making the mental errors, he wont be considered a great athelete, or even the best on th team. Mental preparation is a big part of being a complete athlete.
December 16th, 2015 at 8:18 am
Bowers has my pick. His ability to cling onto an NFL job without any real talent or work ethic speaks for his athletic prowess.
December 16th, 2015 at 8:40 am
but which Bucs player is the best athlete?
With or without RED BULL?????
December 16th, 2015 at 8:56 am
Yeah I sure Jameis could’ve been a solid pitcher. But just like Jeff Samardzija, football was the better play.
Sure Samardzija is a decent pitcher, when someone’s not screwing with his mechanics. But IMHO, he would’ve made one helleva reciever in the NFL.
The kid was an above average route runner, with hands like stick’em.
He reminded me alot of Ed McCaffrey.
As for Genghis Kwon, the kid is RAW. But moment he really starts to trust-
what he see’s. Mark my words, Multiple All-Pro selections are his for the taking.
I know its all subjective – But IMHO BOXING/MMA has the best athlete’s.
Especially when you add the elements of Gymnastics/Parkour into your training.
December 16th, 2015 at 9:41 am
Baseball players are clearly the best athletes. I am a football nut but just ask Michael Jordan. Throwing, catching and hitting a 95 mph fast ball or curve ball. Baseball players have to have all the tools.
December 16th, 2015 at 10:22 am
Baseball players are athletes. Pitchers are not.
December 16th, 2015 at 10:25 am
Kwon chasing down one of the best wr’s in the game was one of the highlights of the entire season. I don’t think a DB has ever done that Julio,and our middle linebacker did it. It’s an amazing feat for sure. I can’t argue with Kwon being our best athlete. The other guy in contention can’t even catch the damn ball.
December 16th, 2015 at 10:41 am
Better hope after playing for the Bucs, when his contract is up Jameis does not decide to go play baseball instead.
December 16th, 2015 at 1:15 pm
LUV:
Have you seen the salaries of pitchers? Wow.
December 16th, 2015 at 2:14 pm
Actually, the toughest, best conditioned athletes, hockey players. They do it all on skates and half the times going backwards…
December 16th, 2015 at 2:29 pm
I would side with Doug Martin this year. The guy got himself in better shape and has been showing it on the field.
December 16th, 2015 at 3:57 pm
Joe
Without a doubt – If we’re only talking about money. Of course Baseball is the play.
But if we’re talking about showcasing your talents – becoming an Iconic type of player. Given his skill set – I think Samardzija had a better shot at being that guy in the NFL.
Jeff Samardzija aka “The Shark” – dude coul’ve been a household name of Sundays
The kid was that good.
But from a money stand point your right…
$122,725,000 guaranteed Wow!!
With an oppurnity to dip into the well again in 2021 -when he turns 36.
Freakin insane.
December 16th, 2015 at 4:18 pm
I can’t believe that 31 teams passed on this guy and he fell to the 4th round. How can that many scouts totally miss him?
December 16th, 2015 at 6:37 pm
Let’s see how athletic he is when he’s off the Performance Enhancing Drugs for a whole off-season. Even the tamer stuff, SARMS like Ligandrol and Ostarine, can make huge differences in strength and endurance. Google them and the Gator QBs name, for example.