Jake Paul decided this was the week to trigger NFL athletes, and once you poke the bear, you better watch out.
Paul suggested he would do much better in the NFL than NFL players would do in the ring against him, prompting two-time Super Bowl champion LeSean McCoy to come out all guns blazing against the hot take.
LeSean McCoy Doesn’t Buy Jake Paul’s Claim He Can Play in the NFL
In a recent appearance on “The Pivot Podcast,” Paul made headlines by claiming he could successfully transition to professional football if he chose to.
He told Ryan Clark and the show’s hosts that he couldn’t match elite NFL stars like Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase, calling them athletes on a different level. However, he believed he could fill a role similar to former slot receiver Wes Welker.
Clark later shared his viewpoint on Paul’s take, saying that while Paul has achieved a lot in his career, he would be mistaken to believe he could replicate the success of Welker, Julian Edelman, or JuJu Smith-Schuster in the NFL.
“Confidence is one thing. Earning it on Sundays is another,” Clark wrote.
Meanwhile, McCoy responded to Paul’s bold claim on the latest episode of the “Speakeasy” podcast.
“Jake Paul said he was going to beat a real champion, but he lost, and now that’s dead. This is all a gimmick from him,” McCoy said.
“Jake Paul said he was going to beat a real champion, but LOST and now that’s dead… This is all a gimmick from him”
– @CutonDime25 responds to Jake Paul saying he would do better in the NFL than NFL players would do in the ring against him
LIVE HERE: https://t.co/hZUiDw6sUS pic.twitter.com/wVb6S4gxOc
— Speakeasy (@speakeasytlkshw) August 3, 2026
“So now you got to do something else. This is the new thing he’s doing where, ‘Okay, well, you know what guys, I’m going to fight NFL players because NFL players, they tough, but they’re not boxers.’
“So yeah, you’ll beat them. You spar and train for the last six, seven years. So yeah, you’ll beat them. But this is another gimmick. The only thing I don’t get about him is that he’s doing so well with his promotional company. He’s doing so well in business. Why all these antics, though?”
Paul has built a successful boxing profile by defeating multiple former UFC fighters, but many view his NFL ambitions as another example of the “Problem Child” generating attention. However, Paul maintains that his football aspirations are genuine.
He earlier revealed he plans to submit game tape of himself playing college football in hopes of earning an opportunity. Speaking with the a16z Podcast Network, he said he intends to walk on as a slot receiver at Stanford before pursuing the NFL.
Paul also told Front Office Sports last month that he has already spoken with “a couple [NFL] teams and coaches” who are interested in bringing him on board.
“I have better hands, faster, stronger, and I work harder than them,” Paul told FOS. “Really, all it’s going to take is me, after boxing, practicing some routes.”
Paul doubled down on social media Sunday, claiming “not a single NFL player could last two rounds in a professional boxing ring,” adding that he could “catch a touchdown pass tomorrow in the NFL with zero training.”
