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Tyreek Hill better watch out, as there might be another speedster in town soon if Louis Rees-Zammit succeeds in making his NFL switch from rugby. The Wales player is a bonafide superstar in his sport despite being only 22.
He has a top speed of 24.2 miles per hour, which tops that of the Miami Dolphins receiver, who has been recorded at 23.24 miles per hour on a punt return for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rees-Zammit broke through for English Premiership Rugby side Gloucester in 2019 and has since established himself as one of the starters on the wing. He's the youngest debutant for the club in the Premiership and its youngest try scorer in both national and continental rugby.
Louis Rees-Zammit was destined for greatness at an early age and made his Wales debut in 2020. He became a regular and was also called up for the prestigious British & Irish Lions squad on their tour to world champions South Africa.
To put it into perspective, the Lions party is made of the best players from England, Scotland, Wales and South Africa, and he broke into it despite being 20, becoming their youngest representative since 1959.
Rees-Zammit also took part in the World Cup with Wales last year, where they reached the quarterfinals, losing to Argentina. He was expected to be selected for the upcoming Six Nations rugby tournament for his nation as well before he chose the NFL International Pathway program. That will give him an opportunity to be picked in this year's draft.
The program starts in Miami this month and runs for 10 weeks to determine if international players can make the cut in the NFL. He was approached by someone oon Sunday to try out for this opportunity, as reported by various sources.
He chose to take it since he has always been fascinated by football. Louis Rees-Zammit has also reportedly kept alive the possibility of returning to rugby if a career in the NFL does not work out.
UPDATE:
On Friday, NFL Insider jordan Schultz reported the Kansas City Chiefs are signing Louis Rees-Zammit. Before signing with the Chiefs, the rugby star visited the NEw York Jets, Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns. Rees-Zammit had interest from quite a few NFL teams.
The 23-year-old recently concluded his international player pro day. He clocked the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds, with a 9'7" broad jump and 29" vertical jump. He expressed his disappointment after recording faster 40-times the previous week.
The Chiefs will land a hybrid player who will be playing running back and wide receiver for the four-time Super Bowl champions.
Will Louis Rees-Zammit become a wide receiver like Tyreek Hill?
The pathway program will determine where Louis Rees-Zammit best fits in the NFL, but given his speed and how well players like Tyreek Hill have done, wide receiver might be an option. As the Wales star has played as both a winger and a full-back in rugby, he could be a running back as well.
A good example of it is current English rugby winger Christian Wade. He plays for French club side Racing 92, but in 2019, he tried entering the NFL through the same route Louis Rees-Zammit is taking now.
He was allocated to the Buffalo Bills practice squad and scored a 65-yard touchdown in a preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts but never made it to the active roster. Wade made his way back to his current sport in 2022.
Therein lies the biggest challenge for Louis Rees-Zammit if he's to become a sensation like Tyreek Hill in the NFL. In rugby, players are only allowed to throw the ball backward.
Therefore, a wing or a full-back will receive the ball either from an opposition kick or a lateral pass, instead of a hand-off or a forward pass. Also, unlike the NFL, where a running back will line up behind the line of scrimmage, in rugby, a full-back will try to avoid the scrum and stay wide to find an open field to run into.
That makes any transition challenging. Where the Wales player could excel more is on special teams, like Tyreek Hill initially did in his career with the Kansas City Chiefs. As a punt or kick returner, he will receive a kick similar to the ones in rugby with a broken field in front of him, where he can use his speed.
As a rugby player, he's also used to kicking the ball upfield, which could make him a good punter too. Initially, though, expectations must be tempered about Rees-Zammit breaking into an offensive position soon.
