The NFL is not interested in players like Louis Rees-Zammit and Christian Wade, according to former American football and rugby union star Alex Gray, rather preferring “freaks of nature”.
Gray, 34, made the move to the NFL through the International Player Pathway programme before Rees-Zammit and Wade, and suffered the same fate, eventually returning to rugby union.
Following his experience in American football, where he was part of the Atlanta Falcons practice squad, Gray accepts that players like him, Rees-Zammit and Wade are not what the NFL are looking for. Instead, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jordan Mailata, who stands at 6’8″, weighs 165kg and moved to the NFL having come through the South Sydney Rabbitohs academy in rugby league, is the type of player that is being sought after.
With that said, Gray said that the Welshman’s time in American football, which came to an end when he signed for Bristol Bears in August, should not be seen as a failure.
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28 Sep 25
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“He probably suffered with the NFL the way we all did,” Gray said on the Stick to Rugby podcast.
“And if I’m going to be honest, they’re not looking for guys like me and him, right? Or even Wadey. Three exceptional athletes, but there’s a lot of us out there.
“The only guy that has really made it is Jordan Mailata. Used to play rugby league. An absolute dinosaur of a human. You just can’t find those guys walking the streets. Six foot nine, 165 kilos, can move, tough. Those are the guys they’re looking for. So, it was always going to be tough.
“Don’t get me wrong, the NFL, if anything, it’s a hugely opportunistic league. And it can work either way. You can get the right rub the green, the ball thrown to you, make a couple of plays, and make a team, but you can also do absolutely everything right, torch your man one-on-one, do all your assignments. If the quarterback doesn’t look at you and throw the ball, it doesn’t really mean anything. You know what I mean?
“You have to gain an advantage over those other players through those opportunities, right? You have to make a play in practice. You have to make a tackle on special teams. And you just don’t get enough reps at it. But if I couldn’t do it, if he couldn’t do it, if Rees-Zammit couldn’t do it, who can do it? And I think it is those just freaks of nature that you just can’t find anywhere else.
“But it’s great he’s back in rugby. And the thing about him is he’s so young. So, whatever anyone wants to say about it, it’s not a failure in any way to have gone there. And I keep thinking this to myself like, ‘God, I pitched up. I’d never been to an American football game before. I played against the Miami Dolphins. I’ve come into this; there’s 70,000 kids who’ve been playing since they were 6 years old. I’m competing with these guys. I’m the best in the world. They’re all playing for 50 60 million dollars a year.’ I can’t be mad at myself for how I did.
“That’s what I would say to him as well. People online can say whatever, but what an experience. He’s gone and done it.”