Sports fans have been fantasizing about Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James' NFL potential for years. Former All-Pro running back Marshawn Lynch thinks that “The King” would've excelled as a tight end, but with one caveat.

Lynch doesn't think that James would've been an effective blocker, via the NBA's Reddit page.

Marshawn Lynch says LeBron would’ve been a good tight end in the NFL
byu/Fit-Structure-9395 innba

“Not in the trenches,” Lynch said. “He would've been a good tight end. Just wouldn't have been blocking for s**t.”

The interviewer compared James' potential to a Jimmy Graham-type, who is a five-time Pro Bowler. The former New Orleans Saint was known for essentially acting as an oversized wide receiver, foregoing blocking for route-running and catching passes.

While Graham is one of the better tight ends to ever lace the cleats, James probably made the right decision by going the NBA route. However, there's an alternate universe where he became a football player during the league's 2011 lockout.

LeBron James could have signed with an NFL team

LeBron James (23) controls the ball as Denver Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) guards
© Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

James revealed to Peyton and Eli Manning during the “ManningCast” on Monday in 2021 that both the Dallas Cowboys and Seahawks wanted him during the lockout, via ESPN.

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“Jerry Jones offered me a contract, and actually Pete Carroll in Seattle did as well during our lockout time,” James said. “Definitely got my blood flowing again, got my mind racing again about the game of football, being out there on Sundays. We was able to get a deal done in the NBA and I was back on the court in no time, but I definitely thought about it. I still got the jerseys, too, that Jerry and Pete Carroll sent me from 2011.”

James' high school quarterbacks Matt McDonald and Chris Wooley both raved about his skill on the gridiron as well, via Bleacher Report's Joon Lee.

“You look around the field, and it doesn't matter if he's double-covered,” McDonald said. “It doesn't matter if he's triple-covered. That's where the ball is going.”

Considering James' freakish athleticism, it's not surprising that he was proficient at another sport. The four-time NBA champion's 6-foot-9, 250-pound frame was made to dominate in the red zone.

“He's not the guy that's going to get hurt. It's the guys he's going against,” McDonald added. “It's at a point where he was so much better than everyone else that not even the big guys could hurt him.”

While James wouldn't have had the same level of physical advantage in the pros, his high-school dominance showed that he could've been a productive football player at the highest level.

“It was like watching him with subpar NBA players now,” Wooley said. “He makes everybody on the field believe in themselves more.”

An athlete's talent is one thing, but their ability to make their teammates better is a quality that only the special ones have. The fact that James had it in both basketball and football is a testament to his greatness.