Denver Broncos miss out on top rugby star to division rival

The Denver Broncos are falling victim to the success of their division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs once again. Kansas City signed former Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit who is expected to contribute to special teams primarily and will also be listed as a wide receiver/running back hybrid in head coach Andy Reid's offense. Rees-Zammit also visited with the Broncos earlier this week, however, decided to choose the Chiefs as his first destination in the NFL, per Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz.

Rees-Zammit, 23, has scored 190 points as a professional winger with Gloucester Rugby since 2018 and became the youngest player ever selected to the British and Irish Lions squad in 2021 at just 20 years old. His talent as an athlete is undeniable and will certainly translate to the NFL in some capacity. After all, most talent evaluators in league circles today value athletic scores and measurements higher than other categories.

Rees-Zammit is 6 foot 3, 194 pounds and ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash time at the International Player Pathway pro day. He even expressed his frustrations with his result afterward saying: "A bit disappointed in my 40. Last week, I was getting some really good times. I was getting low 4.3s, high 4.2s. So it is what it is." The international prospect is clearly hungry for the opportunity to prove himself and his ability at the NFL level, despite never playing professional American football.

Considering the NFL's recent rule change implementing a new kickoff rule, Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos certainly would have liked to add Rees-Zammit to their special teams. His speed and acceleration will most likely immediately stand out in his game and will probably cause issues for opposing special teams units. Despite the Broncos making a massive leap in special teams success from 2022 to 2023, they still lack speed throughout that phase of the team.

You also have to wonder what the 23-year-old athlete could have looked like in a Taysom Hill-type role in Payton's offense. Kansas City will likely use him in many jet-sweep play calls or even end-arounds where he can eat up yardage and take the defense's attention off of the other playmakers. He'll make for a complimentary change of pace in any offense he's inserted in. While we do have very little film to make that assessment, his athleticism and speed at a young age in the right offense will immensely propel him to stardom quickly. Luckily for Rees-Zammit, he was able to choose between two of the greater offensive minds in the game in Andy Reid and Sean Payton.