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General  | General  | 4/29/2022

PG Top 10: Baseball-Football Stars

Blake Dowson     
Photo: Perfect Game
This week's PG Top 10 aims to be timely, with the NFL Draft this weekend. I did my best to rank the top-10 baseball-football duo-sport stars, with a Perfect Game angle, of course. A few items before we get to the list - this is very much un-scientific. There is no formula I used to figure out who the best PG alum-turned-football star would be. It's my personal ranking, and there's room for conversation here. I weighed Perfect Game accomplishments heavily, because well, you know what website you are on. That's really the only set-in-stone rule I put in place, to be considered you must have played in a PG event. That's why you won't see Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders or Brian Jordan.

1. Jameis Winston
Winston, a top-50 overall baseball prospect in the 2012 class, was a Perfect Game All-American as a prep. As a quarterback at Florida State, he won a national championship and a Heisman. He was then the No. 1 overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Say what you want about Winston’s NFL career and whether he has met expectations or not, those accomplishments put him first on this list.
 
2. Kyler Murray
The case for Murray is very similar to Winston’s, minus the national championship and Perfect Game All-American status. That’s what ultimately gives Winston the nod, although Murray is the only athlete to be drafted in the top-10 in both the MLB and NFL Drafts – No. 1 overall to the Arizona Cardinals in the 2019 NFL Draft and No. 9 overall in the 2018 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics.
 
3. Kyle Long
Long has less of a high-profile two-sport story, but he had a promising career as a left-handed pitcher. In his NFL offensive lineman-sized 6-foot-7, 280-pound frame, he was hurling mid-90s fastballs and was named a Perfect Game All-American in 2007, and was the No. 40 overall prospect in the 2008 class. He chose to pursue football, and was drafted 20th overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2013 draft. He went on the earn Second-Team All-Pro honors in 2014 and is a three-time Pro Bowler.
 
4. Carl Crawford
Crawford shined in the early days of Perfect Game, attending the World Showcase in 1998 and the National Pre-Draft Showcase in 1999 right before he was selected in the 2nd round of the MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. Crawford was a four-time All-Star over 15 years in MLB. Before his time on the diamond, he had a scholarship offer to play quarterback at Nebraska toward the end of their decade of dominance in the 1990s.
 
5. Donavan Tate
When Tate was drafted third overall by the San Diego Padres in the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft, he was the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2009 prep class as an outfielder and coming off an appearance in the Perfect Game All-American Classic. When he signed with the Padres, he was giving up a scholarship to play quarterback for North Carolina. Tate’s senior year of high school, he was a top-100 overall football recruit and the No. 6 quarterback in the class.
 
6. Patrick Mahomes
Football weighs a bit heavier in this selection, naturally. Mahomes is an NFL MVP and Super Bowl winner, and odds are he adds to his trophy case many more times before his quarterbacking days are over. As a prep right-handed pitcher, Mahomes was a Perfect Game Preseason All-American in Texas before his senior season and was the No. 389 overall prospect in the 2014 class. Mahomes is also a minority owner of the Kansas City Royals, which doesn’t effect his ranking here, but it’s cool.
 
7. Jerrion Ealy
Ealy’s 6.13 60-yard dash at the Perfect Game National Showcase in 2018 gave a hint at what his talent on the gridiron might be. Ealy, the No. 12 overall baseball prospect in the 2019 class and No. 3 outfielder, was a Perfect Game All-American and possibly the best athlete at that event. As a running back at Ole Miss, Ealy collected over 2,000 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns over three years. He added 545 yards receiving and 864 yards returning kicks in his career. Ealy hopes to hear his name called in this week’s NFL Draft.
 
8. Riley Cooper
Cooper was a wide receiver for two national championship teams at Florida with Tim Tebow at the helm, catching 81 passes in his career for 1,496 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was drafted in the 5th round of the 2010 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, where he caught 169 passes and scored 18 touchdowns over his six-year career. Before his time as a Gator and Eagle, he was the No. 38 overall baseball prospect in the 2006 class and was a member of the Top Prospect list at the 2005 Perfect Game National Showcase.
 
9. Golden Tate
Tate was ranked just outside the top-100 outfielders in the 2007 class, and committed to play both football and baseball at Notre Dame. He hit .318 for the Fighting Irish baseball team over two seasons before being named the Fred Biletnikoff winner as the best wide receiver in college football in 2009. Tate was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks and went on to catch almost 700 passes for more than 8,000 yards and 46 touchdowns.
 
10. Dylan Lonergan
Putting Lonergan on the list is a projection pick. Lonergan, a 2023 grad, is currently the No. 66 overall baseball prospect in his class (No. 13 right-handed pitcher), and has already accepted an invite to this summer’s Perfect Game National Showcase. On the football field, he’s the No. 62 overall prospect (ESPN rankings) and No. 6 quarterback, and recently narrowed his list of schools to Alabama, Florida, Stanford, South Carolina, and Ohio State.
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