JJ Watt has backed former Tottenham striker Harry Kane to leave the world of football behind and become a kicker in the NFL.
Despite scoring goals for fun in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich since his move from Spurs, Kane has made no secret of his love for NFL.
Many fans would of course love to play in the NFL one day, but Watt has insisted that thanks to Kane’s prolific striking ability, he would be one of the few able to make it in the sport.
“I think with true proper dedicated training, I think Harry Kane could make it as an NFL kicker,” he told The Overlap.
“I think that his skillset, obviously having kicked balls for his entire life, then you put him with a proper kicking trainer, it’s going to go well. I don’t want to diminish the job of a kicker because it’s an extremely difficult job, but somebody that does it at the highest level like Harry has with proper training, I do think he’s good at it.
“I did a field goal competition with Sergio Aguero in America when Manchester City came over for a pre-season tour, and he was phenomenal, making 65-yard field goals. The only difference is that he would have taken a long runup, whereas in the NFL, you get 1.2 seconds from the time the ball is snapped, so you’ve got to take a two-step run-up and kick it, but he was pounding the ball through the upright.
“Justin Tucker is the best kicker in NFL history, so I’m not saying that Harry Kane can be that, but I do think that Harry could possibly, with three years of intensive everyday training, make an NFL roster, one of 32, because he’s had to do it his whole life.”
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Kane returned to north London this week as he found the back of the net at the Emirates Stadium during Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The 30-year-old continued his habit of scoring against the Gunners as he fired home from the penalty spot to give Bayern a 2-1 lead, before Leandro Trossard’s second-half strike drew parity for Mikel Arteta’s side.
The game was not without controversy, however, as both Bayern and Arsenal had penalty shouts turned down during the tense affair.
Despite vociferous appeals from both sets of fans, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher insisted that “common sense” prevailed.
