Whether it be arguments over Twitter or the actual comparison of times, the idea of a professional football player competing in a professional track and field event has been discussed within both the football and track communities.
The biggest disagreement?
“Who’s actually fast and who’s not, and what does world-class speed actually look like,” said Rai Benjamin, a world champion in the 4×400 meter relay.
After hinting at his interest in the upcoming USATF Golden Games meet, DK Metcalf, a wide receiver for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, is finally going to bring at least a partial answer to this long-standing disagreement when he lines up Sunday for the prelims of the men’s 100-meter dash.
Sports fans seem to have an affinity for when their favorite athletes dip their toes into other sports. Some of the best-known names in American athletics, such as Michael Jordan, Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson, have all done this at the professional level.
This isn’t the first time the worlds of the NFL and track and field have collided. Just nine years ago, Marquise Goodwin from the Chicago Bears finished 10th in the men’s long jump at the 2012 London Olympic games.
While some track athletes are excited for the attention that Metcalf’s participation will bring to the sport, they aren’t sure that Metcalf is fully prepared for what he has signed up for.
“His biggest issue is gonna be the start,” said Michael Rodgers, a two-time U.S. 100-meter champion, who is also entered in Sunday’s event. “I think that there’s a big difference between doing something at the combine and doing something like that.”
Metcalf is known in the league for his record-breaking top speed of 22.64 MPH, as clocked by Next Gen Stats. This speed would bring him to the finish line in just under 10 seconds–if he could sustain it for 100 meters.
“I’m anxious to see how his so-called ESPN world-class speed measures up against the real world-class speed,” said Rodgers.
There is an obvious difference between a football player sprinting a 40-yard dash in an NFL combine and them lasting the full 100 meters of a track race. Benjamin and Rodgers say there’s more to it than the athletes having the endurance. There are details to the 100-meter dash that makes it unlike other races, and certainly unlike the 40.
“We’re learning how to run fast, straight ahead, around turns, sprinting, doing plyos, jumps, weight room,” Rodgers said. “As for sprinting and learning mechanical stuff, they’re not doing that type of stuff every day. They don’t have to do all the extra hard work that we have to do.”
Metcalf ran in both relays and hurdle races in high school, but he hasn’t participated in track and field events since then. He has focused enitrely on football, which as brought him success and a fan base beyond Seahawks fans.
“I think it’s gonna bring an entirely new generation to the sport… And have them see like, OK, this is what real speed looks like,” said Benjamin.
