Tim Tebow named one of Time’s 100 most influential people

Tim Tebow might be No. 2 on the New York Jets’ quarterback depth chart, but -- in the opinion of Time magazine -- he’s No. 1 in the NFL.

Tebow is the only NFL player on the magazine’s top 100 most influential people in the world. He’s one of six athletes to make the list, along with the NBA’s Jeremy Lin, soccer’s Lionel Messi, golf’s Yani Tseng, tennis’ Novak Djokovic, and South African amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorious.

According to Time: “No athlete fed America’s sports obsession more than Tebow. We drafted Lin to write about his New York neighbor: Lin says the Jets quarterback ‘is unashamed of his convictions and faith -- and he lives a life that consistently reflects his values, day in and day out.’”

Tebow, traded from Denver, met most of his new teammates this week at the first off-season workouts for the Jets. He’s the backup to Mark Sanchez but is expected to be used in various packages that will exploit his ability to move the ball, usually on the ground.

“The things we’re able to do with Tim all throughout the game, all the wildcat stuff we’re able to utilize with him, all the short yardage we’ll build around him, it’s like we’re going to be able to be two separate teams now,” left guard Matt Slauson told the Newark Star-Ledger. “But as far as I know, Mark is still going to be our guy, and that’s the way we’re all looking at it right now.”

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Tim Tebow named one of Time’s 100 most influential people