Recently, YouTube influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul appeared on Ryan Clark 's "The Pivot" podcast to suggest that he could "100%" play slot receiver in the NFL, like Wes Welker and Julian Edelman once did.
Paul later took to X to share his belief that he could catch a touchdown pass in the NFL with "0 training." But he doesn't think any NFL player would make it past Round 2 in a boxing ring. Former NFL receiver Cole Beasley (who was a slot receiver) couldn't agree with Paul's assessment any less.
First, here's what Paul said on "The Pivot" podcast X on Friday. It started with Clark saying , "Like, you sit around and watch Wes Welker play and you're like shoot, 'Oh I could do that.'"
Paul's reply was a surprise, "Yeah, 100%." Clark responded by clapping and laughing his butt off at Paul's bold claim.
Paul then said, "I could not do what Justin Jefferson , Ja'Marr Chase, those are different level athletes than me. I'm talking about the white guy, Wes Welker, who's this big. What's he gonna do?"
Paul went on to say that it's not that these players are talented; he just doesn't believe it's as hard as they're making it out to be.
"I'm not saying that they're not (talented), I'm just saying that it's not as hard as people are making it out to be," Paul argued.
Understandably, some former NFL players didn't appreciate what they saw from Paul. One in particular, the aforementioned Beasley, found Paul's initial statement about being able to play like Welker to be " disrespectful as hell ."
"This is disrespectful as hell."
In a way, Beasley is a bit like Paul. He entered the NFL as an undrafted player when many others didn't believe he had what it took.
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Yet, through hard work, perseverance, and confidence in his abilities, Beasley managed to carve out an 11-year career. He knows just how hard it was not just to make a roster, but to then find success in the NFL as a slot receiver.
Now, here's what Paul continued with on X on Saturday.
"Not a single NFL player could last 2 rounds in a professional boxing ring," Paul declared. "Meanwhile I can catch a touchdown pass tomorrow in the NFL with 0 training. Patrick Mahomes 'Run a 10 yard out.' Me 'Okay.' Patrick sends me perfect pass and I catch it lol what are we talking about here?"
Okay, but what about getting off the line of scrimmage when a defender is jamming you in the face? Then, Paul still has to run a decent route just to even get open.
If open, he still needs to catch the dang thing, which, as witnessed each week, isn't always as automatic as it looks on TV.
In other words, it's not hard to see why Beasley feels disrespected by Paul's take, because he made being an NFL player his life's work. Whereas for Paul, it would just be one of his many side gigs, a number of which have been extremely successful.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
