WRs converted to S / CB? 🤔

[HOUSE]

Running backs can kick field goals but field goal kickers can't play running back

Its a fact....

[Avisan]

3 hours ago, HOUSE said:

Running backs can kick field goals but field goal kickers can't play running back

Its a fact....

I mean... have we tried it, yet?

[27yankees]

So how many WR's on the current 90 are going to be converted to DB. 

[Cash]

Did anyone mention Richard Sherman yet? I believe he switched from WR to CB while at… Stanford? That one’s interesting because he actually approached the coaching staff about it, not the other way around. 

[Chandler#81]

20 hours ago, davefan66 said:

Yes, players have been converted in the past.

 

I’m wondering who the “cement handed” WR is you want to convert, or is it a general question?

Well, even though “cement handed” is the criteria, It still can’t be Coleman. Geriatric cripples with prosthetic legs are faster

[ScottishBills]

One of the Packers WRs is doing it right now i think -Bo Melton. No idea how it is going, but he got a few hundred yards as a WR, so he wasnt a total nothing in that position

[Sierra Foothills]

2 hours ago, Cash said:

Did anyone mention Richard Sherman yet? I believe he switched from WR to CB while at… Stanford? That one’s interesting because he actually approached the coaching staff about it, not the other way around. 

 

14 minutes ago, ScottishBills said:

One of the Packers WRs is doing it right now i think -Bo Melton. No idea how it is going, but he got a few hundred yards as a WR, so he wasnt a total nothing in that position

 

Also I believe that former Packer great Darren Sharper played WR in college.

 

[Spiderweb]

22 hours ago, HiMark said:

Bucky Brooks

 

But he sacked, like he did as a receiver.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

12 hours ago, HOUSE said:

Running backs can kick field goals but field goal kickers can't play running back

Its a fact....

 

8 hours ago, Avisan said:

I mean... have we tried it, yet?

Garo Yepremian tried K, QB, and DB all in one play in Super Bowl VII. 🤔

 

"The field goal attempt was blocked by Bill Brundige, and Yepremian managed to get to the ball before any other player did. Instead of falling on the ball to preserve the Dolphins' 14–0 lead, he picked it up and frantically attempted to throw a pass. As a result, the ball slipped from Yepremian's hands and went straight up in the air. Yepremian then attempted to bat the ball out of bounds but instead batted it back up in the air, and it went right into the arms of his former Lions teammate, Redskins cornerback Mike Bass, who returned it for a touchdown."

(from the Wikipedia article.)

[Big Turk]

On 8/10/2025 at 8:22 AM, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Are there any instances of cement handed wide receivers converting to defensive backs positions, in the modern era of professional football?  Or are the skills of the roles just too different?

 

George Wilson who played and started for the Bills was one of those...

 

I would say you would need a very good understanding of football concepts in general and a strong ability to think at a very high level, as well as limited physical skills that prevent you from being a good enough WR but would allow you to be a good Safety. However you would have to have good athleticism overall even if it isn't good enough in a single area.

 

Most players don't have that combination of traits to be able to pull that off and the ones that do usually are good enough physically that they never would have to make that switch.

 

It's a very niche ability for a player to have and possible that coaching staffs wouldn't want to spend the time or energy trying to convert a player also.

Edited August 11 by Big Turk

[Stranded in Boston]

On 8/10/2025 at 12:40 PM, st pete gogolak said:

Does anyone remember Dwight “Ike” Harrison from Lou Saban’s second go-round?  I believe he started out as a WR and ended up a pretty solid CB on some good Bills’ teams in the mid-70’s.

Thanks, St. Pete. I was a huge Ike Harrison fan, but I had forgotten that he came to the Bills in '72 as a WR (he even caught a few passes that year). Lou Saban converted him to right cornerback in 1973, playing opposite the brilliant Robert James. Ike was a fantastic corner throughout the mid-70s,, even piling up 8 picks in '75 season. It always irked me that he sort-of got "marked" by the refs as a serial interferer later in his career; his last season with the Bills it seemed he couldn't even breathe on receivers without drawing a flag.

Apparently the poor guy had a tough time after his NFL years, likely suffering from post-concussion problems, and he passed away in 2024. RIP, Ike. 

[DCofNC]

On 8/10/2025 at 6:22 PM, HOUSE said:

Running backs can kick field goals but field goal kickers can't play running back

Its a fact....

But can an RB be a holder?  Then a team could actually carry the best punter.

[akcash]

Convert Shenault to safety 👀