Kansas City Chiefs fans have been blown away by Louis Rees-Zammit’s physique and skills amid a training ground rumour that he’s proving hard to take down.
There are 99 days until the NFL season starts, with former Wales rugby star Rees-Zammit hoping that he can make the final 53-man roster for his new team.
The Welshman has been impressing in training, showing good handling ability and running well in practice drills. However, there is still a long and arduous pre-season to go through before he can think about getting selected to play a proper game.
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On the latest episode of the Upperhand Chiefs podcast, hosts David Pokorny and Garett Aimutis discussed Rees-Zammit’s prospects in the double Super Bowl-winning team, and it’s fair to say they are full of hope for the former Gloucester Rugby speedster.
“We just started talking about Louis Rees-Zammit out of nowhere,” began host Pokorny.
“I’m so excited to see how this guy moulds into a player. Dude, he has the ability to pass it across the entire field from his hip as a lateral.”
Co-host Aimutis added: “The dude has legs that are just carpets. There was this video that I saw, and it was one of the Chiefs’ OTAs, and at the way end of the clip you just see Rees-Zammit catch a pass on the outside and go up and the dude’s thighs are just thicker than steel rods.
“There have also been reports that he has been a bit of a trouble to bring down in practice, and I think that’s going to be an under-rated part of his game. Mostly in the kick return but obviously tackling is going to be a lot more secure if he does play a considerate amount of snaps at running back.
“But I think on kick return he’s going to break some loose.”
Pokorny continued: “But think of the thing that he’s been taught in rugby, that’s something like – ‘You are naturally gifted or you’re not’ – and that’s contact balance. He’s going to have better contact balance than so many of these college football players, like rookies.”
Aimutis: “He’s going to engage contact, he’s going to really put the shoulder down and try and run through guys and I think he’s going to do it pretty consistently.”
Pokorny: “And it’s not like the classic – ‘Oh it’s just over-hyped, an international player’ – this guy is different. He thought the best route to the NFL was to literally play rugby and be the best at it. He was one of the youngest rugby players to ever make a national team. So like, bro is pretty good at sports!
“I think he’s going to be a-ok. I think he makes the team.”
You can watch the clip below.
The 53-man roster deadline is typically around the end of August, so there is plenty more time for Rees-Zammit to impress before selection is made for the season.