Which NFL players should be in the Winter Olympics?

The NFL is home to some of the finest athletes in the entire world. So it’s not a huge surprise that there’s already been some crossover between the NFL and the Olympics.

Patriots special teamer extraordinaire Nate Ebner was a member of the U.S. men’s rugby team that competed in Rio in 2016. Niners wide receiver Marquise Goodwin finished No. 10 in the men’s long jump in the London games in 2012. Track and field makes the Summer Olympics seem like a more obvious connection for NFL athletes, but there are links to the winter games, too.

Willie Gault played wide receiver for the legendary 1985 Bears. He was also a sprinter for Team USA in 1980 when the U.S. opted to boycott the Moscow games. Gault — along with Herschel Walker — also spent some time on the United States bobsled team.

You might not remember Jeremy Bloom from his inauspicious NFL career. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL draft by the Eagles and spent his rookie season on injured reserve, then spent two years on the Steelers’ practice squad. But he represented Team USA at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City and the 2006 games in Turin, Italy, in freestyle skiing.

All of this raises a very important question: Which current NFL players and coaches could branch out and best represent Team USA in the Winter Olympics?

This sport requires athletes to ski down a hill at speeds over 80 miles per hour and then weave their way through obstacles — either gates or poles — at a dizzying pace. The closest NFL comparison? The three-cone drill at the NFL Combine.

Ameer Abdullah’s time in that drill was 6.79 seconds, and he was also a top performer in the 20-yard shuttle. Amari Cooper posted a 6.71 and excelled in the 40, while Michael Thomas ran it in 6.8 seconds and did well in the vertical jump and bench press, too. Never mind the fact that I can find zero evidence that any of these three have ever skied. They have the agility and overall athleticism to be solid additions to Team USA.

Ah, yes, the classic sport that combines cross country skiing and target practice. For this one, let’s consider which players would be best at the shooting part. Carson Wentz put together one hell of a season before tearing his ACL in Week 14, and he’s also an avid hunter.

Browns left tackle Joe Thomas is also an avid outdoorsman who skipped the 2007 NFL Draft to go fishing instead. And Drew Brees is the most accurate starting quarterback in the NFL. He completed 72 percent of his passes last season. He also hunted a crocodile one time with Bear Grylls, albeit with a knife. These are your three best shots, pun totally intended, at Olympic gold from the NFL world — after Wentz’s ACL is fully healed, anyway.

To succeed in bobsledding, you need speed to get that thing going. Once the sled’s moving, one member steers and one member brakes.

There’s no squad in the NFL that’s more qualified to do all of this than the Packers, who worked bobsledding into a touchdown celebration this past season.

Or, if these guys are feeling frisky, maybe they could represent the U.S. in luge, which is like bobsledding, except infinitely more terrifying and dangerous.

Welcome to the best event in the Winter Olympics, and this is not even a discussion. You know who agrees with me? Curling enthusiasts Vernon Davis and J.J. Watt.

Watt tweeted his support for Team USA’s curling squad. Davis is actually in Pyeongchang to cheer them on.

Former NFL defensive end Jared Allen is also a logical choice here, because he’s got experience. He was a member of the St. Paul Curling Club during his time with the Vikings. Now that he’s retired, he actually plans to make the U.S. curling team.

But who else could join Allen in finally bringing home curling gold for the first time in U.S. history? Watt’s teammate Greg Mancz is on board. And Andy Reid is basically already on the U.S. curling team.

Oh, and the Minnesota Vikings could at least be alternates.

We’re going straight up Blades of Glory doubles with this one. There’s only one choice here to represent the U.S., and it’s Giants teammates Odell Beckham Jr. and Eli Manning. If you saw their Super Bowl commercial, which featured the duo recreating a scene from Dirty Dancing, then you get it.

We already knew Beckham had moves. And Eli looks like he can handle the lift part of it just fine. Plus, these guys learned that choreography in almost no time at all. Surely they can pick up figure skating, no problem.

J.J. Watt doesn’t fit the traditional figure skater mold at 6’5 and 290 pounds. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to see him give it a shot.

Flashy costumes are as much a part of figure skating as the skating itself. For that reason, Cam Newton also gets a nod. At the very least, maybe he could join the iconic commentary team of Tara Lupinsky and Johnny Weir.

It’s the Winter Olympics’ version of gymnastics. It’s badass and fun. And if you can do a flip while running full speed into the end zone, you’re probably cut out for doing a bunch of ridiculous stunts while flying through the air on skis. For that reason, Golden Tate and Antonio Brown are our choices.

Tate did it this past season against the Saints. He landed on his back, but he’d have a lot more air to work with coming off a ski jump.

Brown did it back in 2015, but the best part of adding him to this squad would be whatever celebrations he’d pull out after a successful run.

As far as we know, the IOC does not fine athletes for twerking.

Sure, not everyone who grew up in Wisconsin played hockey. But J.J. Watt did, and if we had to tag one NFL player in on the U.S. men’s hockey team, it would be him. Watt told The MMQB’s Peter King that he only gave it up because of the cost.

Joining Watt would be Super Bowl 52 champion Beau Allen, a defensive tackle with the Eagles. Allen grew up in Minnesota. According to his college defensive coordinator, Greg Clough, Allen played more youth hockey than football when he was growing up.

“He was like 6’2, 245, and you should have seen him,” Clough said, via Philly.com’s Frank Fitzpatrick. “He’d skate down the middle and people would just clear the hell out.”

That seems like a solid skill set to have on the ice.

The short track turns speed skating into a contact sport. For this one, we need NFL players who have the speed but are also physical enough to withstand the contact — or are just too damn fast for it to matter.

Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill is quick enough to just evade the other skaters. Look at him turn a short pass into a 57-yard score.

Leonard Fournette is 6’1 and 228 pounds. He’s not moving if other skaters run into him. And he’s got enough speed to leave an entire defense in the dust while he runs in a 90-yard score.

This is what it looks like when an Olympic athlete successfully performs a ski jump.

This is what Julio Jones looks like hauling in a circus catch on the sideline. See the resemblance?

Gronk’s the best tight end in the league, and he’s one of the NFL’s best athletes in general. Plus, his laid-back personality just seems to fit the sport of snowboarding.

He sounds prepared for the slopes in this Facebook video of one of his offseason training sessions.

“We’re killing this mountain, baby,” Gronk yells. “This mountain got destroyed by us!’’

There’s no doubt Gronk would go bazooka on the halfpipe. Plus, the U.S. would probably have 69 more fans there to support Team USA if the group Gronk took to the Super Bowl is any indication. Nice.