This is going to be a fun, speculative article. If you’ve come here for deep-dive analytics or hard-core football talk, you’re in the wrong place. If you’re looking for an enjoyable “what if” piece, strap in and enjoy yourself.
If there’s one thing we know about Gable Steveson, it’s that he’s a freak athlete. The Apple Valley native possesses a 6’1″, 260 lbs. frame that dominates his opponents, and he has the agility to do a double-handspring backflip to celebrate afterward. Steveson’s talents have led him to an NCAA heavyweight championship with the Gophers and an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, but fans want to know what’s next.
Bet Online took a stab at predicting Steveson’s next move, tweeting a list of odds on Tuesday morning. Steveson saw the tweet and provided some inside information to gamblers hinting a move to the NFL.
If there’s one team that should be lighting up Steveson’s phone, it should be the Minnesota Vikings. It seems far-fetched that the Vikings would make this move ahead of a season with major ramifications, but their history suggests it’s one they would think about making at some point.
Since taking Danielle Hunter in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Vikings have been obsessed with finding his clone. Jalyn Holmes, D.J. Wonnum, and others haven’t panned out, but Steveson’s athleticism would at least be enough to become Andre Patterson’s next “pet squirrel.”
The Vikings also have a history of getting creative to find talent. In this past draft, they took linebacker Chazz Surratt, who was playing quarterback two years ago. They also selected tight end Zach Davidson, who also starred as a punter at Central Missouri.
The Vikings have even went outside the country to find talent, drafting Moritz Böhringer in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
But of course, Steveson would follow in the footsteps of another former Gopher, Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar joined the Vikings in 2004 after a stint in WWE and almost made the team despite never playing a down of football. While Steveson would have the same learning curve, he’d have the advantage of being six years younger and an open invitation from P.J. Fleck to play football this fall.
Before you get visions of Steveson and Hunter driving Aaron Rodgers into retirement, this should be taken with a dose of reality. While Steveson could play football, he has several more avenues that could be more attractive.
Steveson had the UFC fan base in a stir later on Tuesday when he sent a wave emoji to president Dana White. While some believe that Steveson was trying to break into the MMA world, others believe he was trying to get his attention after White congratulated David Taylor for his gold medal.
There’s also the chance that Steveson could still follow in Lesnar’s footsteps — but to the squared circle instead.
WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, who won an Olympic gold medal in 1996, told Talk Sport that Vince McMahon was salivating over Steveson’s potential and noted Steveson’s bright future.
“I was thinking WWE, Vince McMahon is drooling right now,” he said. “I think that this kid, I think he’s going to continue to wrestle amateur for another four years, probably win another gold medal. Then I think he’ll eventually end up in the pro wrestling business or UFC or Bellator MMA. So, the kid has an incredible future.”
Steveson has also planted roots in the promotion, appearing ringside at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, and has earned praise from Paul Heyman who manages — you guessed it — Lesnar.
All of these presents plenty of options for Steveson’s next move. But if we know one thing about what he’ll do next it’s that it will be whatever he wants.
