The Kansas City Chiefs made a surprising move a few weeks ago, signing former Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit. The move was forward-thinking and a potential game-changer if the rugby star can transition his skills to a football gridiron and contribute to the offense.
During Monday’s Zoom press conference with reporters, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid fielded questions about Rees-Zammit’s adaptation to NFL football.
“Yeah, so he was introduced to this when he was young when his dad played for six years in the European league,” Reid explained. “He’s somewhat familiar with the sport and has had success in rugby. And there are some similarities there as a contact sport, and he’s had the ball and does those things and runs with the ball.
“We’ll start him off at the running back position and get him to feel comfortable with that. Going forward here, he’s had an opportunity to also go down there to Dallas and work with Pat (Patrick Mahomes), and so again, he’ll get used to some of these calls through our Zooms and the plays, and then we’ll just see where it goes from there.”
Rees-Zammit announced months ago his intentions to join the NFL’s International Pathway program (IPP) to earn a spot on a roster. He thrilled scouts during his workouts enough for the Chiefs to bring him in this offseason.
“Dave (Toub) will have an opportunity to have him on special teams and see where that goes,” Reid said. “That’s not an easy transition, but he seems to have been wired to playing competitive rugby professionally since he was 17. He’s sitting there 23; he’s had a pretty good career, with that kind of understanding of the professional game and the mindset to play at the professional level.”
The change in kickoff formation for next season has led to more interest in Rugby players because of the similar alignments. Reid addressed the strong possibility of Rees-Zammit immediately filling that role.
“Potentially, they’re all out there working on returns,” said Reid, who left that decision to special teams coordinator Dave Toub. “So before and during practice, we’ll just see what his feel is and where that goes.”
The new kickoff format was inspired by the Spring Football League, the UFL, as the NFL attempts to innovate the process for better results in the future.