Would Tim Tebow be in the NFL had he changed positions?

[HoboRocket]

A lot of people forget about Jordan Reed, too. Reed arrived at Tebow's school as a QB. He became a Pro-Bowl TE and one of the more dangerous receivers in the game for a while. Similar athletic measurables to Tebow. Just couldn't hold up health-wise.

[Dome]

5 hours ago, ChazStandard said:

Taysom Hill is basically Tebow without the media hype already, and OCs are always looking for versatility and wrinkles.

There's more than just the media hype. Taysom is a significantly better athlete than Tebow was.

 

[HoboRocket]

2 hours ago, HoboRocket said:

A lot of people forget about Jordan Reed, too. Reed arrived at Tebow's school as a QB. He became a Pro-Bowl TE and one of the more dangerous receivers in the game for a while. Similar athletic measurables to Tebow. Just couldn't hold up health-wise.

To build off of the Tim Tebow and Jordan Reed comps, here are their Combine measurables:

Tim Tebow: 74.75", 236 lbs, 10.13" hands, 4.71 40.

Jordan Reed: 74.5" height, 236 lbs, 10.08" hands, 4.72 40.

Eerily similar. And like I said, both were QBs at Florida. Reed came to the University of Florida as a QB in 2009, and redshirted his freshman year. He was the back-up QB in 2010, also playing snaps at TE, FB, and HB. Basically what some have suggested that Tebow should have done. But yeah. Jordan Reed was a QB for his first two years of college, and literally was on the roster while Tebow was. They have almost the exact same frame and athletic measurables. Jordan Reed is what Tim Tebow could have been, IMO.

[Trojan]

What do you mean? He just retired from the Mets to become the Houston Texans next starting quarterback.

[DontTazeMeBro]

I believe he could’ve been a successful QB. Actually he was successful and it’s gaslighting to say he failed. 

[DontTazeMeBro]

I think it’s unlikely he would’ve been good at another position because he had no experience at other positions. Most guys have almost a decade of experience playing their position before they get to the NFL. Not that many people can just start from zero at the pro level.

[Trojan]

Seriously though what Tebow had was an exceptionally high character personality and a certain type of leadership talent that either would work very well or put people off. His release throwing the ball was... uh uniquely odd and long like a javelin throw I guess? He needed to massively compact his motion and eliminate weird hitches and standardize his release angles. That would have maximized his efficiency and granted him some accuracy needed to succeed longer term. His one year with all those miracle comebacks was something special and much more memorable than many careers though.

[Billy86]

With the right coach he could have made a really handy Taysom Hill like gadget player, but that type of role wasn't really around a decade ago, and his hardcore fanbase would never have allowed it. 

[Zycho32]

Given that we typically judge 'Busts' on their general suckitude during their playing careers, Tebow skirts the definition. He wasn't benched or canned due to truly bad performances, and by most metrics his lone starting season was promising and exciting enough to carry on into additional years; it's just that even all that pales in comparison to an available Peyton Manning on the market, hence his ousting from Denver. From there he landed on a bad place with the Jets, who voluntarily went back to the Butt Fumble himself over Tebow that season. An attempt at being in New England didn't take either, and that was that, which was kinda strange since there are always enough bad teams that could've deluded themselves into thinking they could 'fix' Tim and ride his popularity to some degree of notoriety, but I'm digressing.

A player with Tebow's athleticism and size would likely be pigeonholed into something of an H-Back role; not Halfback, H-Back was that term to describe the TE/FB hybrids. Useful, but a bit player largely. He'd really see the field more as a #2 TE lined up on the line than as a FB given how offenses really started to change around that time. As for the Gadget stuff, this would be less of a 'Wildcat' option and more of a 'Fullback Pass' option, essentially what guys like LaDainian Tomlinson could do with passing the ball on run plays(Imagine for instance if Tebow ended up in Oakland playing fullback alongside Darren McFadden. A pass could come from anybody in the backfield). Of course, this would mean he'd also have to spend a lot of time on Special Teams, in coverage, in blocking formations, maybe even do grunt work on the line for placekicks.

Would he last long? Well, I'd have to say he probably doesn't last long beyond 2015, if only because he's going to be thrust into a more physical position and would accumulate a lot more wear and tear over the years.

Would Tebow have been kept in the NFL had he voluntarily made the switch? I want to say yes; high character players are always valued. Of course, there's the rabid Tebowmania aspect that certainly soured his prospects of learning from quality QB coaches on the bench, and those pirhanas would be even worse about a clear-cut demotion from QB rather than just the starting spot, and any team that would've been willing to deal with that lot would've just pushed up their sleeves and kept him as a Starting QB.

[Uncle Buck]

He should still be in the league as a quarterback.  He was successful in his first year as a starter.  It may have been ugly, but he found a way to get the job done.  The same could be said for Joe Kapp back in the old days.  He threw an ugly ball (he didn't even use the laces when he held the ball), but as Bud Grant said about his days playing in Canada, "he always seemed to find a way to win."  The same goes for Tebow. 

[Malik]

11 seasons as a gadget player? Unlikely. Leon Washington was an all-pro and he only played 9 seasons

[thebestever6]

2 hours ago, Uncle Buck said:

He should still be in the league as a quarterback.  He was successful in his first year as a starter.  It may have been ugly, but he found a way to get the job done.  The same could be said for Joe Kapp back in the old days.  He threw an ugly ball (he didn't even use the laces when he held the ball), but as Bud Grant said about his days playing in Canada, "he always seemed to find a way to win."  The same goes for Tebow. 

The further I though the less I believed Tebow would of made it. I mean his questions were like Lamar Jackson times two what honestly was his projectory. Would of had to stack the offense in the trenches, rbs, tes, would of had to been content with crappy wrs because most care about their numbers. For a ceiling that may have just been a couple of playoff births. 

I get the intangible traits, the handful of plays a game where he's transform from looking like a third string Qb to Superman. But there was no traits that would of been improved upon for him to look more capable of running an offense.

Tebow honestly should of worked on more things in college the gap was too steep. Him changing his throwing motion the off-season of the draft was so gimmicky pr grab pull. 

Let's also remember he got battered that Pats playoff game gotta thing injuries may have started to take a toll.

Tebow always reminded me of Steve Mcnair in some ways of their style of play. But he was no where close to polished as mcnair passingm if he could of gotten there he could of been special.

[Nabbs4u]

7 hours ago, Billy86 said:

With the right coach he could have made a really handy Taysom Hill like gadget player, but that type of role wasn't really around a decade ago, and his hardcore fanbase would never have allowed it. 

Pretty much this. People acting like Taysom Hill a decade ago would be doing what he's doing currently for the Saints need a reality check too. He wouldn't be.  Different time, Different Era.

Doubt Tebow would of successfully made the switch.

[AkronsWitness]

23 hours ago, Starless said:

I don't think he had any skills that translated particularly well to the NFL.

Not as a thrower but he was a monster as a runner and playmaker. If a team really bought into him, committed to a new offense and gave it time I think he would have had more longterm success. Lets say he got put into a similar situation as Lamar Jackson with the entire franchise bought into that particular style and built their team around it. I think he would have been just fine.

Maybe not Pro Bowl caliber, but at least a .500 QB.

[Apparition]

2 hours ago, AkronsWitness said:

Not as a thrower but he was a monster as a runner and playmaker. If a team really bought into him, committed to a new offense and gave it time I think he would have had more longterm success. Lets say he got put into a similar situation as Lamar Jackson with the entire franchise bought into that particular style and built their team around it. I think he would have been just fine.

Maybe not Pro Bowl caliber, but at least a .500 QB.

Like a lot of "dual threat" QBs, if you took away the threat of the pass, they'd become a lot less effective, and vice-versa. The problem with Tebow is that he wasn't a good passer at all, and as a runner he wasn't particularly fast or elusive. His lone career passing highlight came as a result of **** LeBeau making the baffling decision to call cover-zero and letting him throw a rainbow to DeMaryius Thomas, which was the one thing he was decent at. 

And if you moved him to a position where he didn't have to throw the ball, you'd soon realize just how little speed or elusiveness he had. He wouldn't be an effective RB because of that. There's no indication that he could block or catch, either. Maybe you could teach him one of those skills, but I honestly think his best bet would be as a situational linebacker.