The new NFL season is almost here and there are plenty of Australians either playing or pushing for minutes for their respective teams this year.
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From rookies to watch to a key player on a Super Bowl contender who has drawn the ire of his fanbase, foxsports.com.au fills you in on every Australian to keep an eye on!
LAKI TASI (Offensive tackle, Las Vegas Raiders)
Week 1
Laki Tasi didn’t know much about the NFL before he was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent in April. He didn’t even know who his new coach, Pete Carroll, was.
But Carroll, who coached the Seattle Seahawks to a 43-8 win in Super Bowl XLVIII, didn’t need to know who Tasi was to realise the Raiders may have been onto something with the softly-spoken Australian.
In fact, the veteran coach singled out Tasi as his “favourite guy out there to watch” early in training camp.
“He knows nothing about football when he walks in the door, and he’s made tremendous progress,” Carroll said at the time.
“He’s enormous. He’s the biggest guy you ever saw. … I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but he started from ground zero and he’s made a lot of progress so far.”
Tasi, whose NFL journey first started when he was selected for the NFL’s International Pathway Program (IPP), joined the Raiders as a defensive lineman.
But Carroll had other ideas.
He told Tasi during OTAs (organised team activities), that he wanted the Australian — who stands at 6-foot-6 (198 centimetres) and 373 pounds (169kg) — to switch to the offensive line.
It was already a challenge for Tasi to learn the nuances of playing defensive line at IPP camp, so the learning process didn’t come easy for the 21-year-old.
Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Laki Tasi.
Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Laki Tasi.Source: Supplied
In fact, he told The Athletic that it was “really scary” for him early on.
“The whole playbook with the offense is just crazy to me, especially with the numbers and the words that you’ve got to know and assignments you’ve got to go through on the field. … I was struggling at the start,” Tasi told the publication.
“But then I had the voice to speak up to the coaches and say, ‘Hey, I need help with the plays.’”
Tasi said veteran guard Alex Cappa had been a much-needed mentor for him, pulling him aside before his first pre-season game to remind the Australian to simply have fun out there and not get too caught up in whether he would be making mistakes.
After all, having grown up playing both rugby union and league, American football had not been on Tasi’s radar before a friend Ben Niumata, who owned a local burger joint in Queensland, suggested he give it a shot.
Queensland rugby product Laki Tasi was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL.
Queensland rugby product Laki Tasi was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL.Source: Supplied
Tasi was impressive in his first pre-season game, playing all 13 of his snaps at right guard where he received a grade of 84.6 from Pro Football Focus — the sixth-best among qualifying guards during the weekend’s slate.
He also received plenty of praise from The Athletic’s film expert Ted Nguyen after the game.
To make his first-ever football game even more special, Carroll even sent Tasi out for the coin toss.
“It was important to me to celebrate the fact that he’s playing in his first football game in his life,” Carroll said.
“And so you see him go out for the coin toss, representing the rooks with the other captains that were game captains, and the fact that he played in the game and did some positive things, that’s a long, long ways to come.
“Most of us played football when we were 10 years old. He started a couple of months ago, and so it was exciting to see him do something and have fun out there, and I saw a little celebration after a good block. And to me, it’s a real treasure just to watch him develop.”
Tasi showed more of his inexperience in the final preseason game against the Cardinals, allowing two pressures, and was later waived by the team in a move that The Athletic’s
Raiders beat writer Tashan Reed wrote at the time “could be a risk that comes back to bite” them.
“To be clear, Tasi won’t be ready to play this year. The former Australian rugby player had no experience playing football before this year and is as raw as they come,” Reed wrote.
“Still, his size (6-foot-6, 373 pounds), athleticism and movement skills give him a lot of upside. He’s shown he’s a quick learner and had some nice moments in the preseason. He’ll draw interest from other teams, and he could possibly get claimed on the waiver wire.
“The Raiders are betting that other teams’ lack of familiarity with where Tasi is in his development will cause them to hold off on claiming him.”
In the end, that exact scenario played out as the Raiders were able to sign Tasi back onto their practice squad where he will continue to develop his game.
While injuries could open the door for Tasi to be called up to play in the NFL later in the season, he is still quite raw and so it may make more sense for the Raiders to play the long game with the 21-year-old.
After all, as Reed noted during training camp, the physical tools make his upside undeniable.
“Tasi’s unique combination of size, athleticism, strength and physicality makes his upside intriguing,” Reed wrote.
DANIEL FAALELE (Right guard, Baltimore Ravens)
They are a genuine Super Bowl contender and yet if you listened to some Baltimore Ravens fans, you would think they were no hope with Daniel Faalele as their right guard.
As is the case with everything, the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and The Athletic’s Ravens beat writer Jeff Zrebiec put it best last month.
He conceded there are “some flaws” in Faalele’s game but that at the same time, some of the criticism from Ravens fans towards the Australian has been “over the top”.
To some of them, he is the “absolute worst player in the NFL”.
Zrebiec said there is a “a major disconnect right now between how the organisation and Daniel’s teammates feel about him and the job he does, and how outsiders perceive the job he does”.
Proof of that came in the reaction to a play in Baltimore’s preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts when he was easily beaten by Adetomiwa Adebawore for the sack.
The play did the rounds on social media and for Faalele’s critics was just the latest proof that fifth-year veteran Ben Cleveland should move up the depth chart or that there needs to at least be some competition at right guard.
But ask the Ravens coaching staff about the play and Faalele’s development in general ahead of his fourth season in the NFL and they will tell you something different.
In fact, offensive coordinator Todd Monken passionately defended Faalele last month when he was asked about that moment in the Colts game.
“We’re excited about where he’s at now and where he’s going to continue to grow,” he said.
“It was one play. It was one example. I can’t imagine any of us, one example of something in our life and that’s who they are.
“That’s the silliest s*** I’ve ever heard in my life. Just the way it is, the world we live in.”
Monken later went on to describe the criticism as “unfair”, adding that Faalele — who had dropped more than 20 pounds (nine kilograms) in the preseason — was “outstanding throughout all of camp”.
Daniel Faalele is looking for an improved season in Baltimore. Rob Carr/Getty Images/AFP
Daniel Faalele is looking for an improved season in Baltimore. Rob Carr/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
“That’s the world we live in with social media. One image, a couple of images make the man. It’s unfair,” he said.
“But we’re into the shock value of a play, whether it’s a good one or a mistake. I couldn’t be any more thrilled with Daniel’s progress.
“Do you know how far he’s come in the three years I’ve been here? Do you know how hard he’s worked? We’re lucky to have him.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh called Faalele “our best player out there” while teammate Ronnie Stanley said Faalale had been hard on himself and his own biggest critic this offseason.
So, what have the experts who aren’t close to or connected to the team made of Faalele’s play?
Well, Zrebiec spoke to offensive line guru Brandon Thorn for The Athletic last month and, again, the general consensus was that while there are certainly some areas for improvement he hasn’t been as disastrous as some have made him out to be.
“Just going back to his projection coming out of Minnesota and what he is now, definitely a little bit of a disappointment based on what I thought he could be,” Thorn told the publication.
“That’s just my personal evaluation of him. But in terms of how he’s been as a pro, I would say serviceable.
“If he’s your fifth-best starter (up front), then I think you probably have a good line. The way their line is constructed, their style of offense, I think you can get by with him.”
Thorn said Faalele’s struggles against the Colts were “overblown”, spotlighting “several” good reps in the game, including blocks on two long runs by speedster Keaton Mitchell — one of which ended in a touchdown.
So, while there will no doubt be plenty of external pressure on Faalele to perform and every move of his will remain under the microscope, the Australian can take some confidence in knowing he has the support of the coaching staff and his teammates.
After all, the Ravens drafted Faalale in the fourth round knowing it wouldn’t all come together immediately.
But they also knew there weren’t many people in the NFL who could move the way he did at his size and so they are in this for the long haul.
JORDAN MAILATA (Left tackle, Philadelphia Eagles)
There is not much new to report with Jordan Mailata, who is firmly locked in as Philadelphia’s starting left tackle and one of the best at the position in the league.
If anything, Mailata’s development in the past few years has more been about him as a leader, with the Australian emerging as one of the stronger voices in the locker room and with the media.
That was evident when one reporter asked Mailata in the preseason about the pressure of being defending champions, with the Australian confidently declaring that “whatever we did last year doesn’t matter”.
“We’re not defending nothing. We’re not the defending Champs... we’re not defending s**t,” he said.
“I don’t like hearing that, ‘defending champions”. We have our mission, and now we gotta go do it all over again.”
It has been a consistent message from the entire Eagles playing group all offseason and for Mailata, who always tells his younger teammates to “stay where your feet are”, it is a message he shouldn’t have any issues living out through his play on the field.
Jordan Mailata with the Vince Lombardi trophy celebrating the 2025 Super bowl win. Picture Ryan Kang
Jordan Mailata with the Vince Lombardi trophy celebrating the 2025 Super bowl win. Picture Ryan KangSource: Supplied
Mailata and the Eagles kick off the regular season on Friday night against the Dallas Cowboys and the honest Australian admitted earlier in the week that it is a “sigh of relief” to not have to go up against Micah Parsons anymore after the superstar pass rusher was traded to Green Bay.
“I say that as a joke, but at the same time, it’s just kind of crazy,” Mailata told reporters.
“The last four or five years that we’ve played the Dallas Cowboys, we’ve come up with a game plan because Micah’s a gamer.
“It is a sigh of relief that you don’t have to plan like that anymore.
“However, that is a talented D-line and a challenging defense. You’ve got to treat them with the same respect, with or without Micah Parsons. They’ve got Kenny Clark there.
“He’s been in the league a long time. He’s a great bloody player. So, now we’ve got to figure out how he affects our game plan and how we control that.”
MICHAEL DICKSON (Punter, Seattle Seahawks)
Dickson is one of the most consistent punters in the NFL and while established Australian veterans like Mitch Wishnowsky and Cameron Johnston were cut by their teams this summer, Dickson instead received a lucrative extension.
While it hardly compares to the huge numbers thrown at star quarterbacks and receivers, Dickson’s extension of $16.2 million with $10.2 million guaranteed and a max value of $16.7 million made him the highest-paid punter in the league.
“Dicko is a premier punter in the league, so hopefully we showed that with the numbers involved,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said at the time.
“But he’s a weapon for us. The stats show it. The film shows it. He’s got a great attitude about him, great personality. Guys love him. Yeah, really excited to have him here for the long haul.”
As for how much punting Dickson has to do this season, well that will largely depend on how Seattle’s suspect offensive line holds up.
New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has overseen some of the most efficient and creative run games in the league recently, but that will matter little if the offensive line isn’t doing its job and will only put more pressure on quarterback Sam Darnold.
There is every chance this Seahawks offence could be a disaster again, but at least if it ends up stalling they will have Dickson to rely on to help flip the field.
Seattle Seahawks punter Michael Dickson. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Seahawks punter Michael Dickson. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)Source: AP
TORY TAYLOR (Punter, Chicago Bears)
Well, at least Caleb Williams wasn’t joking to Taylor that he wouldn’t be punting much during the season.
The Bears’ offence was an abject disaster in Williams’ first season and while much of that had to do with both former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s poor play calling and the state of the offensive line, the former first overall pick wasn’t absolved of blame.
The arrival of an offensive mastermind in Ben Johnson as head coach along with a revamped offensive line and new weapons in the passing game mean Taylor may not be called on as much this year.
While some Bears may still question, especially seeing how last season went, whether taking Taylor in the fourth round of last year’s draft was a luxury pick, the Australian still largely delivered in his rookie year.
Taylor finished the season with 82 punts for 3,911 yards, with an average of 47.7 yards per punt — the highest single season punting average in Bears history.
His 34 punts downed inside the 20 were a franchise rookie record and tied for fourth most in the NFL.
Chicago Bears punter Tory Taylor. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
Chicago Bears punter Tory Taylor. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
JEREMY CRAWSHAW (Punter, Denver Broncos)
There will be a new face joining the host of Australian punters in the NFL after the Denver Broncos selected Jeremy Crawshaw in the sixth round of this year’s draft.
Crawshaw, who earlier in his teenage years was working towards playing for the Penrith Panthers, was taken by the Broncos with the 216th overall pick after averaging 45.8 yards per punt with the Florida Gators in 2024.
Meanwhile, he set the single-season Gators record for punt average at 48.9 yards.
Crawshaw quickly caught the attention of Broncos head coach Sean Payton with some of his booming punts in training camp.
“Certainly he has the leg talent,” Payton said at the time. “You can see that. It’s exciting.”
There was the kind of inconsistency you would expect with a sixth-round rookie and some of that crept into the pre-season too, with Payton noticing that it was often Crawshaw’s first punts that were his worst before he started to find his accuracy as the game went on.
With that in mind, Payton revealed that assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi had come up with an idea to help Crawshaw get over his early-game troubles.
You see, in practice Crawshaw would be putting up punt after punt whereas in games he would be called on and have to deliver right away on the spot.
So, the Broncos altered their sessions so the punt-protection and punt-return units would suddenly run onto the field in the middle of team periods to try replicate that early game scenario for Crawshaw.
“Keep working with him and developing with him. That’s part of it,” Payton said of the Australian rookie.
“I think we’re going to be happy with him and his ability.”
Jeremy Crawshaw was drafted by the Broncos.
Jeremy Crawshaw was drafted by the Broncos.Source: Supplied
PATRICK MURTAGH (Tight end, Denver Broncos)
It has been a rough few years for the former AFL prospect, who was part of the IPP and landed with the Lions in the 2023 offseason before a medical issue brought his time in Detroit to a premature end.
Murtagh then returned to the States and was expected to earn a spot on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad but unfortunately broke his right ankle during one session.
At that point it looked like it may be the end of Murtagh’s NFL dream, but the Australian has been rewarded for his persistence after being signed by the Denver Broncos to their practice squad.
He competed with the team as a tryout player during mandatory minicamp and impressed enough to earn the one spot on Denver’s practice squad that is reserved for an international player.
It is unlikely Murtagh will see much playing time, with Evan Engram firmly entrenched as the starting tight end while Lucas Krull received high praise last offseason and Adam Trautman played under head coach Sean Payton during his time at Denver.
Murtagh is hoping to put the injuries behind him. Picture: Instagram
Murtagh is hoping to put the injuries behind him. Picture: InstagramSource: Supplied
THOMAS YASSMIN (Tight end, Los Angeles Chargers)
One door closes, another opens.
Former Wallaby Jordan Petaia dealt with a hamstring injury during training camp and was later waived by the Chargers in a move that opened up a spot on their practice squad for another international player.
Enter Thomas Yassmin.
Yassmin started out playing rugby union at Scots College and eventually came onto the radar of being the NSW Waratahs and NRL, with the Sea Eagles and Broncos both interested.
He even played some basketball too and his coach at the time, David Todd, brought up the idea of trying his hand at American football before his final year of high school.
Yassmin didn’t know where to start but when the University of Hawaii’s football team toured Australia, he was able to connect with then-offensive line coach Chris Naeole and the interest grew from there. You can read more about Yassmin’s background here.
He was once considered a top-20 tight end prospect before the 2024 NFL draft, but a season-ending shoulder injury hurt his stock and he subsequently went undrafted.
The Denver Broncos then signed him on a three-year rookie contract and he spent last season on their practice squad through the IPP before being waived earlier this year.
That gave the Chargers, who suddenly had a vacant spot on their practice squad, the opportunity to pounce and add the tight end.
Like Petaia, Yassmin faces an uphill battle to get much playing time at the Chargers given they are well-stocked with veteran options at tight end in Tyler Conklin, Will Dissly and Hayden Hurst while they also drafted rookie Oronde Gadsden in the fifth round.
But unlike Petaia, Yassmin does have the advantage of multiple years of college football experience under his belt so he is a better chance than most international prospects.
The Chargers are expected to be a run-heavy defeat under offensive coordinator Greg Roman so improving his blocking will be key to Yassmin seeing any potential reps in the NFL.
Tight end Thomas Yassmin signed with the Chargers.
Tight end Thomas Yassmin signed with the Chargers.Source: Supplied
LUKE FELIX-FUALALO (Offensive tackle, Philadelphia Eagles)
Luke Felix-Fualalo has a photo of Jordan Mailata at the Super Bowl parade saved to his phone.
“Just all that emotion in that photo and knowing his story, I was just happy and it was invigorating,” Felix-Fualalo told foxsports.com.au.
Like Mailata and many other Australians who have made the transition to American football, Felix-Fualalo didn’t know much about the sport before his teenage basketball coach mentioned it.
Felix-Fualalo later underwent what he described as a “transformative” experience at Conquest Athletic Performance, a Victorian training academy which helped prepare him for his American football journey.
It first started at L.A.’s Cathedral High School, where Felix-Fualalo played alongside former first overall pick Bryce Young, before he finished his high school career at Mater Dei High.
He then spent three seasons at the University of Utah before transferring to the University of Hawai’i to play for the Rainbow Warriors.
The move to Hawai’i was a “healing process” for Felix-Fualalo and you can read more about his background and road to the NFL here.
But after initially going undrafted, Felix-Fualalo was signed by the Seattle Seahawks and then later snapped up by the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad after he was waived.
Felix-Fualalo told foxsports.com.au earlier in the year that it “would be so cool” if the Eagles drafted him and while it didn’t work out that way, everything else he said before the draft still remains relevant to this day as he teams up with his idol.
“We (Felix-Fualalo and Mailata) could be teammates. I could train under him,” he said.
“It just motivated me even more.”
Luke Felix-Fualalo was signed to Philadelphia’s practice squad. Picture: Edwin Hooper/Seattle Seahawks.
Luke Felix-Fualalo was signed to Philadelphia’s practice squad. Picture: Edwin Hooper/Seattle Seahawks.Source: News Corp Australia
UNSIGNED PLAYERS TO WATCH
Cameron Johnston (Punter)
Mitch Wishnowsky (Punter)
Matthew Hayball (Punter)
James Burnip (Punter)