Travis Clayton grew up in England, and like most big, strong, British kids, he played rugby as an outlet for his aggression. But even though he has never played in an organized game of American football in his life, he says he always saw himself making it to the NFL.
Clayton, a seventh-round pick of the Bills who projects as an offensive tackle, said American football was his long-term goal.
“I always had the dream of playing in the NFL, so for me to get my name called out was just the main goal, that was exactly what I wanted,” Clayton said, via WGRZ.
Clayton said there’s a wealth of international athletes who would love to play in the world’s biggest sports league.
“I think it just shows there is talent out there all over the world, not just England/UK, and the NFL has grown massively . . . just basically shows that if you’ve done previous sports and you can bring those skills together, you can come play in the NFL. It’s possible,” Clayton said.
At 6-foot-7 and 303 pounds, Clayton has both the size and the mentality to be an NFL offensive lineman.
“I love the physical side of things, being an offensive lineman, being able to take your anger out on people legally is great, and I can just use my strength and my abilities,” Clayton said.
Clayton is reminiscent of Jordan Mailata, who also was a seventh-round pick having played only rugby, not football, and is now the Eagles’ starting left tackle. The Bills think Clayton can develop into that kind of player.
..
