“‘Big Red’ has big plans for Louis Rees-Zammit”.
One of the NFL’s greatest minds has leapfrogged the rest of the league this offseason by signing the former Welsh international rugby star to a three-year contract.
Much has been made of ‘Rees-Lightning’s’ shock move to a new sport, but the former rugby fullback impressed hugely during the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program (IPPP).
Fans have been speculating about where the 23-year-old fits into Kansas City’s Super Bowl-winning system and it turns out Andy Reid has an idea or two.
“We’re going to start him at running back and get him comfortable with that,” the 66-year-old head coach said this week.
“Going forward, he’s had an opportunity to also go to Dallas and work with Pat (KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes), and again, he’ll get used to some of those calls through our Zooms and games, and then we’ll just see where it goes from there.
Rees-Zammit has a unique combination of speed and size that makes him a natural fit for the running back position.
However, the speedster could also have a huge impact on special teams next season after a major change to kickoff rules was announced.
Explaining the transition wouldn’t be easy, Reid said special teams coordinator Dave Toub would work with Rees-Zammit on that side of the game.
“Potentially, they are all working on returns. So before and during training, we’ll just see how it feels and where it takes us.
“Dave will have the opportunity to have him on special teams and see where it goes.
“It’s not an easy transition, but he seems to have been programmed to play competitive rugby professionally since he was 17. He’s at 23; he’s had a pretty good career, with that kind of understanding of the professional game and the mindset needed to play at the professional level.”
Rees-Zammit’s decision to leave England’s Gloucester rugby union team in January and abandon the sport altogether on the eve of Wales’ Six Nations campaign was criticized by many.
But LRZ’s bold gamble paid off when he showed up for IPPP, a ten-week intensive course designed to teach the skills required to succeed in the NFL.
He reportedly impressed many of the league’s scouts at his pro day and ran a 4.43 in his 40-yard dash as well as a 9-foot-7 broad jump and a 29-inch vertical jump.
Three teams were interested in Rees-Zammit, but he chose the Chiefs after Reid contacted him personally.
Now the hard work begins as the Welshman attempts to make the Chiefs 53 roster for the first week of the new NFL season.
LRZ’s new teammates Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes sent him a welcome text upon his arrival in Kansas City, but the superstar has since tempered expectations around his new running mate.
In a recent episode of his “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason, Kelce issued a stern warning to Rees-Zammit ahead of his NFL debut.
“It’s going to be a humbling experience at first. It’s not easy to make that jump, they’re two completely different games,” Kelce said.
“He’s an athlete and that’s what the Chiefs saw. He’s a smart kid, a smart player. So he’ll be able to take over the offense one day.
“But it’s going to be a tough few months for him here while he gets acclimated to the NFL. We’ve been doing this since we were kids, so we’re going to have these little instincts that we’ve built up over the years. I have to catch up .”
Reid, however, clearly sees something special in the former rugby player and believes he can make a big impact on a Chiefs team chasing an unprecedented Super Bowl hat-trick next season.
“He was introduced to this when he was young, when his father played for six years in the European league,” Reid said.
“He knows a little about the sport and has had success in rugby.
“And there are some similarities as a contact sport, and he has the ball, he does these things and he runs with the ball.”
“‘Big Red’ has big plans for Louis Rees-Zammit”.
One of the NFL’s greatest minds has leapfrogged the rest of the league this offseason by signing the former Welsh international rugby star to a three-year contract.
Much has been made of ‘Rees-Lightning’s’ shock move to a new sport, but the former rugby fullback impressed hugely during the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program (IPPP).
Fans have been speculating about where the 23-year-old fits into Kansas City’s Super Bowl-winning system and it turns out Andy Reid has an idea or two.
“We’re going to start him at running back and get him comfortable with that,” the 66-year-old head coach said this week.
“Going forward, he’s had an opportunity to also go to Dallas and work with Pat (KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes), and again, he’ll get used to some of those calls through our Zooms and games, and then we’ll just see where it goes from there.
Rees-Zammit has a unique combination of speed and size that makes him a natural fit for the running back position.
However, the speedster could also have a huge impact on special teams next season after a major change to kickoff rules was announced.
Explaining the transition wouldn’t be easy, Reid said special teams coordinator Dave Toub would work with Rees-Zammit on that side of the game.
“Potentially, they are all working on returns. So before and during training, we’ll just see how it feels and where it takes us.
“Dave will have the opportunity to have him on special teams and see where it goes.
“It’s not an easy transition, but he seems to have been programmed to play competitive rugby professionally since he was 17. He’s at 23; he’s had a pretty good career, with that kind of understanding of the professional game and the mindset needed to play at the professional level.”
Rees-Zammit’s decision to leave England’s Gloucester rugby union team in January and abandon the sport altogether on the eve of Wales’ Six Nations campaign was criticized by many.
But LRZ’s bold gamble paid off when he showed up for IPPP, a ten-week intensive course designed to teach the skills required to succeed in the NFL.
He reportedly impressed many of the league’s scouts at his pro day and ran a 4.43 in his 40-yard dash as well as a 9-foot-7 broad jump and a 29-inch vertical jump.
Three teams were interested in Rees-Zammit, but he chose the Chiefs after Reid contacted him personally.
Now the hard work begins as the Welshman attempts to make the Chiefs 53 roster for the first week of the new NFL season.
LRZ’s new teammates Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes sent him a welcome text upon his arrival in Kansas City, but the superstar has since tempered expectations around his new running mate.
In a recent episode of his “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason, Kelce issued a stern warning to Rees-Zammit ahead of his NFL debut.
“It’s going to be a humbling experience at first. It’s not easy to make that jump, they’re two completely different games,” Kelce said.
“He’s an athlete and that’s what the Chiefs saw. He’s a smart kid, a smart player. So he’ll be able to take over the offense one day.
“But it’s going to be a tough few months for him here while he gets acclimated to the NFL. We’ve been doing this since we were kids, so we’re going to have these little instincts that we’ve built up over the years. I have to catch up .”
Reid, however, clearly sees something special in the former rugby player and believes he can make a big impact on a Chiefs team chasing an unprecedented Super Bowl hat-trick next season.
“He was introduced to this when he was young, when his father played for six years in the European league,” Reid said.
“He knows a little about the sport and has had success in rugby.
“And there are some similarities as a contact sport, and he has the ball, he does these things and he runs with the ball.”