“Patrick Mahomes Praises Louis Rees-Zammit for ‘Unreal Athletic Ability’ After Witnessing It First-Hand”

The 23-year-old has spent the past few months training with the defending Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs after putting his rugby career on hold.

Rees-Zammit joined the NFL’s international pathway program in January, spending 10 weeks in an intensive training camp before being made available as a free agent.

The Chiefs immediately took an interest and then secured his services on a three-year contract in March.

He is now training with a Kansas side that includes the likes of Mahomes and Travis Kelce on their roster as the former Gloucester flyer looks to make their final 53.

Although the chances of Rees-Zammit making it appeared small at the start, those odds have improved slightly thanks to his unique athletic qualities.

Mahomes was effusive with his praise for the Welshman, stating: “he’s fast, very fast”, before going on to discuss what he has seen in training.

“We’re starting him at running back. He’ll do a lot of special teams stuff, and he can actually catch,” the outstanding quarterback told the Riggle’s Picks podcast.

“It looks different, he catches it like he’s catching a rugby (ball), but he never drops the football, so you don’t complain about it.

“And I think what’s been the best part about it is he works his tail off. He understands that he needs to get better, he needs to continue to work.

But the athletic ability is unreal. The 24 mph, or whatever they clocked him at in rugby, is real, that boy is fast.”

The new NFL season starts in September and by that point Rees-Zammit will have found out if he has made the roster.

There are pre-season matches in August, where the flyer is likely to have an opportunity to showcase his talents, before the Chiefs hierarchy make a decision over his future.

Even if he isn’t involved in the 53, the Welshman should at the very least be in the practice squad, which will keep his NFL dreams alive.

It’s just about him learning football now compared to rugby,” Mahomes added.“He’s got the toughness but, until he gets in the game and understands how to move and how to use that athletic ability, you don’t know exactly where he’s at. But when he’s in space, man, he can make stuff happen.”