Before you come for me, I understand. They were just kids. But, it doesn’t matter. Football was invented in the United States. The fact that we send a squad full of “talented” players to represent our country, just for them to not even earn a bronze medal at the IFAF World Championship is outright embarrassing. Sure, the players were under the age of 20. But, they’re young players who were good enough to be on the team. They couldn’t even dominate in a sport that their own country created. So, it got me thinking. Hypothetically, if American Football were part of the Olympics, who would we send to present the country? That’s what this is all about. Here are the NFL players who should represent the United States.
Offense
- QB: Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson
- RB: Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, Bijan Robinson
- FB: Kyle Juszczyk
- WR: Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Mike Evans, Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams
- TE: Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Sam LaPorta
- LT: Trent Williams, Andrew Thomas
- LG: Landon Dickerson, Quenton Nelson
- C: Frank Ragnow, Creed Humphrey
- RG: Zack Martin, Chris Lindstrom
- RT: Penei Sewell, Tristan Wirfs
Explanation
That’s right. If we’re going to make sure we win the gold medal, we’re sending the cream of the crop from the NFL.
Starting at the quarterback position, there is no question here. Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league. Whether it is his no-look throws or just simply knowing how to win and make Super Bowls consistently, he’s the man who should lead this national team as the signal-caller. Since becoming the starter in 2018, Mahomes has appeared in six consecutive AFC Championship Games and has appeared in four Super Bowls. Enough said.
Josh Allen would be a solid backup. He is a dual-threat quarterback who can make plays with his arm and his legs. The same can be said for Lamar Jackson, who will cause headaches for opposing defenses because of his electric ability to create plays on the ground.
Onto running back. Who else but Christian McCaffrey? Ever since joining the 49ers, he has shown why he was the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The 28-year-old is the best all-around back in the game. He led the league in rushing with over 1,400 yards in 2023 while racking up 564 yards in the receiving game too. Talk about a weapon in the backfield.
Behind him is a powerful back in Derrick Henry, who can break tackles with ease and get yards after contact like no other. With double-digit touchdowns in six straight seasons, he is a beast. Not to mention, he is the only running back in recent memory to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season (2020). Finally, the young Bijan Robinson was my third choice, as he is a promising back who is a dual-threat himself with exceptional footwork.
The wide receivers are my favorite group. Who are we kidding, right? No one is stopping this receiving core. The speed of Hill, the all-around game of Jefferson, and St. Brown in the slot is unstoppable. All three wideouts have been outstanding and productive WR1s for their respective teams, and no one is going to be able to cover all three of them. Evans, Kupp, and Adams are backups, but they speak for themselves as to why they’re here.
Travis Kelce is still the best tight end in the game. Patrick Mahomes’s favorite target, he had seven straight seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards (he fell just short in 2023 with 984). His ability to run freeform routes and get open for his quarterback makes him an outstanding and trustworthy weapon. Kittle and LaPorta are behind him, with the latter having an outstanding rookie season with nearly 1,000 yards along with ten touchdowns.
Finally, the big men up front are among the best of the best. Whoever is under center is not going to get touched, I guarantee you that. But, I will say: I wish Jason Kelce could play if he was not retired.
Defense (3-4 Scheme)
*after consideration, I have decided that a 3-4 defensive scheme would be best against national competition*
- DL: Chris Jones, Dexter Lawrence, Quinnen Williams
- WLB/SLB: Nick Bosa, T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby
- LILB/RILB: Fred Warner, Bobby Okereke, Bobby Wagner, Demario Davis
- CB: Sauce Gardner, Jaire Alexander, Jalen Ramsey, L’Jarius Sneed, Joey Porter Jr
- S: Antoine Winfield Jr, Jessie Bates III, Kyle Hamilton
Explanation
Alright, let’s start with the big boys on defense. Countries like Japan or Canada aren’t stopping these boys from the NFL. Let’s start with Chris Jones. The three-time Super Bowl champion just came off another double-digit sack season and is a solid run defender too. Alongside him is Lawrence, who was ranked by Pro Football Focus as the best DT in the league last year. Though he doesn’t put up big sack numbers, he had a 92.6 pass-rush grade. Also, his run defense makes opposing running backs even run toward him. Finally, there is Williams. Also among the best at his position in 2023, the 2-time Pro Bowler is solid against the run and can get to the quarterback as well as anyone.
Now, we move to the edge rushers. All four guys in Bosa, Watt, Garrett, and Crosby are so skilled at rushing the quarterback. The stats speak for themselves, with all four of them having double-digit sacks in 2023 (led by Watt with 19.0)
On the inside, you have guys that are absolute tackling machines. Wagner led the entire NFL with 183 of them. No surprise there, as he’s been doing it for the entirety of his career and is known as a hard hitter. Fred Warner had a 90.0 PFF grade in 2023, displaying his excellent play consistently for the NFC Champion 49ers. Then, we have Okereke. The Giants’ LB was outstanding last season, missing out on being on the All-Pro team. With 149 tackles in 2023, it was good for ninth-most.
Onto the secondary. Guarding the wideouts are solid guys with Gardner and Alexander as starters. He shuts down your favorite team’s WR1 often, finishing third in forced incompletion rate. With a 90.8 coverage grade, Gardner is just getting started. Opposite of him is Alexander, who struggled last year but overall has always been a solid cornerback when on the field. Ramsey and Sneed are great backup options/slot cornerbacks and speak for themselves. I wanted to add the youngster Porter, who has a bright future and allowed just a 60.4 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks last year.
At safety, Winfield leads the way for me. He was graded as the best safety last year according to PFF, solid against the run, and had an 84.0 coverage grade as well. After him, Bates had the second-highest grade among those in his position and has been the backbone of the Falcons’ defense. Finally, the young Hamilton has shown he is going to be one of the best safeties for years to come. With two straight years of a PFF grade of at least 86.0 (including an insane 92.8 pass-rushing grade), he’s an all-around guy who is super versatile.
In The End
These players should represent the United States at the Olympics. So, that way, nothing like this happens ever again.
Austria 🇦🇹 defeat the United States 🇺🇸 32-25 in a thriller to secure the Bronze Medal in the 2024 IFAF U20 World Championship. pic.twitter.com/w0JPSVhzUz
— Int’l Fed of American Football (@IFAFMedia) June 30, 2024
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Featured Image: David McNew
