ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- LeBron James' 6-foot-8, 250-pound frame would be enough to make one of the NFL's most highly-regarded defensive minds, Rex Ryan, shudder.

That's exactly why Ryan, if he could convince James to play in the NFL, would want the NBA star to play tight end for the Buffalo Bills.

"I don't know a whole lot about [basketball]," Ryan said Wednesday, "but that big ol' rascal can come play tight end for us, if he wants to."

The idea isn't new. Plenty have speculated over James' dominant basketball career that he could be successful as a football player, particularly at tight end. Former Green Bay Packers safety Mark Murphy, a former football coach at James' high school alma mater, once said that he would rank James as one of the "great receivers" along with James Lofton, Jerry Rice and Steve Largent.

Bills linebacker Preston Brown insists LeBron James and the Cavs, down 0-2 in the NBA Finals, still have a chance against the Warriors. "They just like to mess with people," he said. Mike Rodak

Ryan sees the potential.

"I think it would work out well," he said. "You look at him. He's physical. Unbelievable. Look at the range. There's nobody that can cover him. There's no way you can cover him. Fast, physical. We'll give it a shot."

James was a hot topic around the Bills' facility Wednesday after third-year linebacker Preston Brown, a Cincinnati native, wore a James jersey during stretching of the Bills' organized team activity. Brown shed the jersey for the rest of practice but put it back on, along with a Cavs hat, for his news conference.

"You gotta win four," Brown said of the Cavaliers' chances in the ongoing NBA Finals. "It's been done. [James is] talking to D-Wade trying to find out how to do it."

As for the Cavs' stumbling with two losses to begin their best-of-seven series with the Golden State Warriors, Brown opined, "They just like to mess with people."

Bills rookie quarterback Cardale Jones, a Cleveland native, didn't want to speculate on what went wrong over the first two games but stood by his hometown Cavaliers for the series.

"Of course," he said of their chances. "They got this."