OTAs 2024: Discussion

[RavenAustralian]

I think that for a rugby player to be successful in the NFL, he should do it as a lb or ss.
facing the play, with an open field, where speed and good tackles are needed.
maybe edge.
imagine Etzebeth, Kramer, Lavaninni hitting people, it would be nice to see

I have seen it the other way around. In the mid-70s there was this NFL player who came to Australia and played a few games of Rugby League with the Newtown Jets in the NSWRFL competition. They put him out on the wing and he had excellent speed. Could tackle hard, and nearly killed the Penrith hooker at the time. Very popular at the time and really filled out the stadium. Always wondered how a team of NFL players, after a couple months training would do in rugby?

[Valhain]

I have seen it the other way around. In the mid-70s there was this NFL player who came to Australia and played a few games of Rugby League with the Newtown Jets in the NSWRFL competition. They put him out on the wing and he had excellent speed. Could tackle hard, and nearly killed the Penrith hooker at the time. Very popular at the time and really filled out the stadium. Always wondered how a team of NFL players, after a couple months training would do in rugby?

I don't know much about rugby league but at least in rugby union and after a couple of months, badly.

I think the transition from NFL to rugby is as difficult if not more than the other way around, because you will be asked to play defence and offense and stay 40 minutes on the field with almost no pause.
Then there is the current tackling laws that'd turn them into penalty machines.
And then there's the passing.

And that's just the basics.

A rugby player will have a very limited and specific role in the NFL. Can't have that in rugby.

After a couple of years though, these are top athletes...

[leachisabeast]

I don't know much about rugby league but at least in rugby union and after a couple of months, badly.

I think the transition from NFL to rugby is as difficult if not more than the other way around, because you will be asked to play defence and offense and stay 40 minutes on the field with almost no pause.
Then there is the current tackling laws that'd turn them into penalty machines.
And then there's the passing.

And that's just the basics.

A rugby player will have a very limited and specific role in the NFL. Can't have that in rugby.

After a couple of years though, these are top athletes...

I think of you took an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman and got them into a fat camp and got them fit as hell while trimming down a bit... They could make excellent props or enforcement type second rows, even at the problem professional level.

In England, we have had a huge shortage of huge props and second rows in the pros in recent years. I can only imagine how excited some of the premiership clubs could get over a 6'7 behemoth with 36' arms, who played tackle in the NFL to come and play and learn the game at their club. Give him a couple of seasons in the academy team to learn the nuances of the game and watch high high that ceiling becomes. But yes most other positions would be tough. Maybe a few RBs could learn to play center, but then that could be a disaster for when they have to learn how to tackle out in space. I wouldn't mind seeing Derrick Henry picking off the base of the scrum from the #8 position though lol.

[Valhain]

I think of you took an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman and got them into a fat camp and got them fit as hell while trimming down a bit... They could make excellent props or enforcement type second rows, even at the problem professional level.

In England, we have had a huge shortage of huge props and second rows in the pros in recent years. I can only imagine how excited some of the premiership clubs could get over a 6'7 behemoth with 36' arms, who played tackle in the NFL to come and play and learn the game at their club. Give him a couple of seasons in the academy team to learn the nuances of the game and watch high high that ceiling becomes. But yes most other positions would be tough. Maybe a few RBs could learn to play center, but then that could be a disaster for when they have to learn how to tackle out in space. I wouldn't mind seeing Derrick Henry picking off the base of the scrum from the #8 position though lol.

iOL/iDL to prop (and prop to iOL) makes the most sense no doubt. NFL tackles are for the most part too tall for scrummaging but the athletic ones could do as locks after trimming down.

You would probably need a couple years fitness wise.

Wow, Henry as a #8 is a great call.

[ArgentinaRaven]

Ricard could be a good first line, with good training.
Nowadays any transition between rugby and NFL would be difficult, they are too different.
only the tackle joins them, that's why I see an lb or an ss as "possible" positions.
Lomu would have been nice to see as rb.
Mccaw, pienaar, hooper, pocok, matera, du toit, Kramer are players who I think could have had a chance

[RavenAustralian]

interesting thoughts on this. I don't see any OL having any stamina to stay on the field long enough to be of real use in a rugby game. i've thought that LB would make good forwards as it is now that forwards these days seem to have the speed and can handle the ball it seems as well as some of the backs. Most large forwards these days seem to come from the pacific islanders these days. Genetically they carry the size and keep their speed and power. Haloti Ngata in the nfl comes immediately to mind.

[JimZipCode]

I think the transition from NFL to rugby is as difficult if not more than the other way around, because you will be asked to play defence and offense and stay 40 minutes on the field with almost no pause.
...
After a couple of years though, these are top athletes...

Probably any player who was good enough to make the NFL, he probably played both ways in high school.

Well: not Peyton Manning, or other kids who were earmarked as QBs from a young age. Or kickers.

But most of the other position players. Obvsly that was years ago for these guys. But as you say they're top athletes; it could probably come back.

[Valhain]

Probably any player who was good enough to make the NFL, he probably played both ways in high school.

Well: not Peyton Manning, or other kids who were earmarked as QBs from a young age. Or kickers.

But most of the other position players. Obvsly that was years ago for these guys. But as you say they're top athletes; it could probably come back.

I think the main problem is that you are 40 minutes almost non-stop in a rubgy pitch. NFL and to a lesser extent college players have a very specific role and at best you'll be playing half the snaps (QBs and OL the most?) with many (way too many with commercials) breaks in between. So explosiveness and speed over short space and time is favored and most combine testing reflects this. Nobody is looking for the 6'7 250lb guy that can run 100 yards back and forth, and on again, jumping at lineouts, scrummaging, hitting rucks and doing some carrying and passing.

The football is similar but the job requirements, conditioning and skills wise, are very different.

But yes, at the end of the day, being top athletes, there is no reason to believe Patrick Queen could not become a very good inside centre, for example.

[Gleeful_Mourner]

Hoping Josh Jones turns out to be one of those rather lightly regarded guys who turns out big for us. He has NFL reps at G and RT — we’re far from solid at both positions.

[Ravensforce83]

Therein lies the problem with having anything "voluntary" in the first place. Like when your boss expects you to work overtime. Or having to tip someone - this is sometimes even seen as insulting in other countries.

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[Dale]

I don't know much about rugby but I read Faalele played rugby and basketball growing up in Australia.

I saw that he was to big at 13yo and didn't like hurting other kids. TBH I couldn't see him playing rugby. He's a beast of a man.

[Valhain]

I don't know much about rugby but I read Faalele played rugby and basketball growing up in Australia.

I saw that he was to big at 13yo and didn't like hurting other kids. TBH I couldn't see him playing rugby. He's a beast of a man.

Not him but you can get an idea, lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyriSfCjqaQ

The question with these kids when they grow up (some more!) is if they have the footwork, speed and dynamism against top opposition. 380lbs is too much but at 300lbs, Faalele could play second row.

Here's Will Skelton (lock, number 5), same height as Faalele and playing at around 298lbs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMjxZ0b-vcc