The former English Premiership star says Louis Rees-Zammit will be a better athlete having spent 18 months trying to make it in American football.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Christian Scotland-Williamson
Former Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Christian Scotland-Williamson(Image: ©Icon Sportswire (A Division of XML Team Solutions) All Rights Reserved)
Former rugby and NFL star Christian Scotland-Williamson has revealed the one thing Louis Rees-Zammit struggled with during his time as an American football player, but believes he will now be an even better rugby player than the one who left in 2024. The former Gloucester Rugby flyer recently returned to rugby after 18 months trying to crack the NFL with Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs.
Now he is back in rugby, the Welshman is reportedly lined up for a move to Bristol Bears and will be in the mix for Wales' autumn internationals in Cardiff. Despite the anticipation surrounding his return, the deeper meaning behind his departure from the NFL has been the subject of wide discussion.
Former NFL player and current Sky Sports pundit Jason Bell suggested Rees-Zammit "could have made the team" based on what he saw in pre-season training. However, former Pittsburgh Steelers player Scotland-Williamson has revealed what he believed to be Rees-Zammit's weakness.
Speaking to NFL Betting, Scotland-Williamson identified pass protection as something that Rees-Zammit struggled with during his time in the States.
"Louis played running back then moved to receiver which are two completely different positions.
"Louis struggled with pass protection as most people do because with blocking you have to be physically willing to put your face into a linebacker who's got a run of steam running straight through the gap trying to take your head off. That’s not for the faint hearted.
"Louis struggled with pass protection as most people do," begins Scotland-Wiliamson. "Because with blocking, you have to be physically willing to put your face into a linebacker who's got a run of steam running straight through the gap trying to take your head off. That’s not for the faint hearted."
Louis Rees-Zammit started out with Kansas City Chiefs before being cut from their squad ahead of the 2024/2025 season.
(Image: (AP Photo/Ed Zurga, File))
6ft 9in Scotland-Williamson played as a tight end for Pittsburgh Steelers, but like Rees-Zammit, spent his time on the practice squad. He played rugby for Worcester Warriors between 2014 and 2017 before trying out the NFL on the International Player Pathway. He returned to rugby with Harlequins for a year in 2021.
"Receiver, it’s more of a finesse and skill position. But every team has a number one receiver, who they're probably paying $30 million, so that's a position that you're not going to get.
"The second string is also probably high pedigree, a top five round draft pick anyway, so you're not going to get that spot. So, you're looking at that kind of slot receiver spot or special teams for your first three years to be able to make the team. You're competing for the bottom 10 spots on the roster as a bubble player."
Scotland-Williamson was then asked about whether he was surprised that Rees-Zammit decided to return to rugby and give up on his NFL dream. "Am I surprised? No," he answered.
"Being completely candid, how you heard him speak about the opportunity, how I felt like the door was almost kind of left open by him for a return to rugby, made me question how successful that transition would be given that he didn't burn his boats with rugby.
"If you make a switch you have to have a mindset that you commit to it totally. There are a lot of fast people in the NFL, everyone's a good athlete, but it's the mental side that really separates you and really gives you the opportunity to actually compete, having never played before.
"With that in mind, if the way you approach it is that you could always go back to rugby, if you have that safety valve, I don't know that in the dark times that you will inevitably experience it will allow you to really push that extra percent to make a success of the transition."
Louis Rees-Zammit(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)
Scotland-Williamson recognised that Rees-Zammit had to learn three playbooks in just over a year after leaving Kansas City Chiefs and then seeing the Jaguars' coaching staff replaced. He believes overtures from the new coaches at Jaguars may have influenced his decision to call it a day and says "you can't blame him" for cutting his losses.
On the other hand, Scotland-Williamson said that Rees-Zammit will be a better athlete now and recognised the mental resilience the Welshman will have developed in American football.
"It's two pronged," continued Scotland-Williamson. "Firstly, he'll be a better athlete than he ever was in rugby because his ability to cut and change direction wouldn't have been challenged in the same way as what it is in the NFL as a running back.
"I'd expect him to be a much-improved winger on the international stage and the Premiership for sure. But then I think the greater and the bigger lesson is probably the resilience side and the ability to overcome challenges which are far greater in the NFL.
"Rugby players tended to have had it easier in their pathways. Ellis Genge has been fairly vocal about the privilege that is innate in the sport. The contrast with what NFL players often have to overcome is stark.
"In terms of the understanding and the ecosystem in America, rugby has no relevance. And if you think about the scale, the quantum of compensation as well, you can be a big dog in rugby and you're not even a rookie minimum in the NFL.
"His ability to learn three different playbooks, his ability to understand the mental pressure of each practice, having to really show what you're made of or to get the respect of other people will help him.
"So now he will be coming back with a new perspective to be a dominant force in something that he has been so successful at already."
Since returning to rugby, Rees-Zammit has been reportedly targeted by the new rebel R360 league, which is aiming to poach the world's best talent for a new franchise-based competition.