Manny/Patrick Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 https://www.espn.com/rugby/story/_/id/39320389/wales-rees-zammit-joins-nfl-international-player-pathway this is a bit different as he is only 22 compared to the other rugby players who joined a bit later in life, I’m not much of a fan of rugby, but anyone know if he can transition to a slot WR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKillerNacho Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 Don't know much about him, but I wish him luck. There is a small handful of cases where such moves work out, but it's hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny/Patrick Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 4 minutes ago, TheKillerNacho said: Don't know much about him, but I wish him luck. There is a small handful of cases where such moves work out, but it's hard. Jordan Mailata comes from Rugby, he’s probably the best example. This guy is as fast as Tyreek Hill though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKillerNacho Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 4 minutes ago, Manny/Patrick said: Jordan Mailata comes from Rugby, he’s probably the best example. This guy is as fast as Tyreek Hill though He's certainly the most successful example, yeah. Still, swapping sports is likely to be a more difficult process for a skill position player. Everything from fundamentals, muscle memory, equipment, and strategy are going to be different. Not saying it can't be done, but a case like Mailata is more of the exception than the rule. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tugboat Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 It feels like the transition from Rugby ---> Football is a lot tougher for skill positions. The trenches seem to have more crossover skills for the big men. Where it's still all about leverage and pushing and moving the pile. When it comes to something like WR...we see it all the time with stellar "track athlete" types who can find a little bit of work in College, but if they don't pick up all the natural "football player" stuff, they end up being extremely niche at best, if not totally worthless. There's so much nuance to being a great receiver. It's not just "run fast, catch ball". You have to understand routes, timing, space, coverages. It's a mountain of stuff to just dump on someone who has never even really played the game at a high level at all, at age 22 or whatever. It's one thing to just draw it up on a whiteboard and "understand" it. But you have to have a frame of reference for what those things all look like on the field. Track stars and Rugby imports alike, just don't have the background of building that up and learning. It's just really hard to replace experience in that respect. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldfishwars Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 22 minutes ago, Tugboat said: It feels like the transition from Rugby ---> Football is a lot tougher for skill positions. The trenches seem to have more crossover skills for the big men. Where it's still all about leverage and pushing and moving the pile. When it comes to something like WR...we see it all the time with stellar "track athlete" types who can find a little bit of work in College, but if they don't pick up all the natural "football player" stuff, they end up being extremely niche at best, if not totally worthless. There's so much nuance to being a great receiver. It's not just "run fast, catch ball". You have to understand routes, timing, space, coverages. It's a mountain of stuff to just dump on someone who has never even really played the game at a high level at all, at age 22 or whatever. It's one thing to just draw it up on a whiteboard and "understand" it. But you have to have a frame of reference for what those things all look like on the field. Track stars and Rugby imports alike, just don't have the background of building that up and learning. It's just really hard to replace experience in that respect. Yep. I think his best shot of making a roster is as a gunner. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NudeTayne Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 Do we know if he has any football background, even high school football? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soko Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 For real though, nothing burger. Didn’t the 49ers have a legitimate rugby star like 10 years ago? Dude played like a year and then never made another roster? Two completely different sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomaxgrUK Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 3 hours ago, Manny/Patrick said: Jordan Mailata comes from Rugby, he’s probably the best example. This guy is as fast as Tyreek Hill though Man, the newspapers really have suckered so many people with this comparison of Tyreek's MPH vs LRZ ... It's utter nonsense. One is wearing full pads and a helmet, the other isn't. It's ridiculous. Tyreek Hill makes some of the greatest athletes in professional sport look like make-a-wish kids. LWZ is fast, sure. But he's absolutely not Tyreek Hill fast. 1 hour ago, NudeTayne said: Do we know if he has any football background, even high school football? Very, very unlikely. You'd have to play Football in a club outside of school before 16 here in Britain, and even then, there would be so few people playing. South Wales lads play Rugby Union; that's basically it. Football would, without question, being considered "soft" in the Valleys because of the pads (we obviously know this isn't true). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwibrown Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 4 hours ago, Manny/Patrick said: Jordan Mailata comes from Rugby, he’s probably the best example. This guy is as fast as Tyreek Hill though Jordan was semi pro in rugby league and young, he was clay and hadn't developed good rugby habits which would probably be bad nfl habits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TedLavie Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 41 minutes ago, Soko said: For real though, nothing burger. Didn’t the 49ers have a legitimate rugby star like 10 years ago? Dude played like a year and then never made another roster? Two completely different sports. Rees-Zambit is, by far, the biggest rugby union player to take a shot at the NFL and, unlike Christian Wade who was definitely not as good already, he's 22. So I suppose if there's one guy who can work it out it would be him. But as previous people have said, aside from Special Teams I think it's going to be a very difficult transition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soko Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 14 minutes ago, TedLavie said: Rees-Zambit is, by far, the biggest rugby union player to take a shot at the NFL and, unlike Christian Wade who was definitely not as good already, he's 22. So I suppose if there's one guy who can work it out it would be him. But as previous people have said, aside from Special Teams I think it's going to be a very difficult transition Jarryd Hayne? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TedLavie Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 3 minutes ago, Soko said: Jarryd Hayne? He was not a rugby union player, he was a rugby league player. I know nothing about rugby league so I can't tell. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soko Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 2 minutes ago, TedLavie said: He was not a rugby union player, he was a rugby league player. I know nothing about rugby league so I can't tell. Didn’t even know there was a difference. Point remains: my faith in any athlete switching sports at this stage, immediately to the elite level of another, is basically zero. Despite the optics, there’s not a lot of crossover between rugby and football (more similarities than football to any other sport, though). It’s like being great at netball and then trying to play in the NBA. Or cricket to the MLB. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelKing728 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 He just sounds like somebody the Patriots will turn into an all-star 15 year role-player lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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