Sunday, April 14th 2019 - The date that millions have been waiting for. Game of Thrones is finally back, after a layoff that lasted longer than Le’veon Bell’s holdout. In the spirit of America’s favorite show returning, I’ve compared some of your favorite football players with some of your favorite GOT characters. Let the games begin:
Robb Stark - Carson Wentz
Quickly crowned king of the north, but hasn’t lived up to his potential.
Jaqen H’ghar - Josh Allen
They have all the tools to be great but aren’t always their best selves. This is because they always seem to be focused on something secondary (pleasing the many faced god / rushing) rather than what they could be doing (Using faces to get the crown, power, etc. / passing).
Daenerys Targaryen - Patrick Mahomes
Nobody throws harder and farther than Mahomes. He burst onto the scene throwing flames past his opponents for TDs. Similarly, Daenerys uses her Dragon’s flames to defeat her opponents. More so than that, they are both young, up-and-coming, powerhouses with nothing but love coming from anyone who knows them.
Jon Snow - James Conner
A story of starting in the shadows, dealing with life-threatening circumstances, and coming out of it all as a fan favorite and top option encompass both Jon Snow and James Connor’s paths. Snow began his life stuck behind the lauded Rob Stark, while Connor was behind a similarly revered Le’Veon Bell. Furthermore, in their paths to success, Snow was literally killed and brought back to life and Connor defeated cancer. Through it all, Snow established himself as a legitimate option to be king, while Connor has made himself a case to be a top RB in the league.
Petyr Baelish - Derrick Henry
If you think about a character/player who is always sneakily in the second-tier, while sometimes creeping up to the first-tier, but sometimes forgotten about completely, you’re left with Littlefinger and Henry. The potential is there, but both can never seem to get over the hump completely.
Brandon Stark - Aaron Rodgers
These two have all the potential in the world, but sometimes it seems that they’re focused on others too much, causing issues on and off the field (or issues in the present and past) when trying to do too much.
Theon Greyjoy - Peyton Barber
They both have never had a real home. It seems that they’re finally accepted somewhere (TB/Iron Islands), but fans can’t help but to think that their new “homes” could give up on them at any point.
Hot Pie - C.J. Anderson
Similar physical stature and good at their jobs.
Bronn - Jimmy Graham
People forget who Bronn and Graham really are because they’re fan favorites. Likable, very good at their job (Well Graham used to be), and always on a competitive team, Bronn and Graham are, in the end, simply just sell swords. Bronn, after assisting Tyrion Lannister, switched sides and began helping Jaime Lannister when he was offered more riches. Graham, after helping the Saints, signed with the Seahawks - who happened to be his highest bidder and an NFC opponent of NO. When free agency came again, Graham again followed the money to Green Bay.
Oberyn Martell - Le’veon Bell
One word to describe these two: SMOOTH. They also have an ego that pulled them off of the TV screen.
Walder Frey - Andy Dalton
Walder and Andy have both been average for the span of their careers. Despite this, they always had control of their team and their leadership was never questioned. Frey, in his third season, showed massive potential when pulling off the Red Wedding, but quickly returned back to a contempt mediocrity. Similarly, Dalton threw for a career high 33 TD’s in his third season, and never reached that potential again.
Jaime Lannister - Jarvis Landry
Landry’s catch % has basically dropped every season he’s been in the NFL. In fact, last season, he lead the league in drops and had a career low 54.4% catch %. His name keeps him respected, and he is a good player (drops are mostly random), but last season he may have well have been playing with one hand.
Have some comparisons of your own? Drop them in the comments below.
By Jason Petropoulos
Follow Jason on Twitter @Jasonpetrop