Yao Ming and J.J. Watt Photo Highlights Insane Size Difference Between Sports

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. One picture from the NFL offseason certainly fits that description.

No, this is not another picture of Rob Gronkowski partying.

Instead, it was something that J.J. Watt sent out on Twitter:

The photo is of the Houston Texans defensive end posing with former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.

Amazingly, Watt is listed at 6'5" and 295 pounds. He looks tiny compared to the 7'6" Ming.

While the Chinese star is one of the largest athletes in sports history, the image still highlights a difference between sports that you do not often realize. 

Right now, the tallest player in the NFL is 6'9" Jared Gaither, an offensive tackle for the San Diego Chargers. On the football field, he is a towering human being.

Compare this to the basketball court and you have Kevin Durant, a wing who plays a position usually reserved for the third-smallest man in the starting lineup. The All-NBA player moves with incredible quickness and fluidity that makes you forget his height.

Obviously there is a huge weight difference between the two, but you certainly would not expect to see Gaither move with such grace.

In addition, you can look at some of the more dominant players in the NFL and know that they would be tiny on a basketball court.

Adrian Peterson is an absolute monster as a running back and almost broke the rushing record this season. Simply looking at the man should make most people intimidated. 

However, at 6'1" and 217 pounds, he has almost the same measurables as Raymond Felton, the smallest player on the New York Knicks. 

At least in these sports, the players spend most of their time next to each other. This gives a relative scale to compare which are taller.

Conversely, baseball players are usually separated by a large field and stand by themselves in the batter's box. You might know that Jon Rauch is 6'11", but how about the fact that Joe Mauer is seven full inches taller than Carlos Ruiz?

It certainly does not always seem that way when they are both squatting behind home plate.

Height does not mean everything in sports. Sometimes the smallest players end up making the biggest impact. 

Still, the huge difference between what these men look like on the street is certainly something to think about.

Of course, it would not be smart to go up to J.J. Watt and tell him how small he looks.