Born in Basingstoke, England, Travis Clayton grew up playing mostly rugby in the United Kingdom. The young man is now attempting to make a successful transition over to the NFL.
The Buffalo Bills took a chance on Clayton when the drafted him in the seventh round of the 2024 draft with the 221st pick. It remains to be seen whether Clayton’s skillset can be utilised in the NFL, but at 6-7, 303 pounds he has the body to be developed into a successful offensive lineman.
Moving to a new country and taking on a new challenge can be intimidating but Clayton is looking forward to the challenge.
“I’ve always had the dream of playing in the NFL, said Clayton per a recent piece in Pro Football Talk. “So for me to get my name called out was just the main goal, that was exactly what I wanted”
Bills seventh-round pick Travis Clayton has never played American football, but he grew up in England playing rugby and dreaming of testing his talents in the NFL. https://t.co/GvOjihKChG
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 2, 2024
Interestingly, Clayton is yet to play in an football game in his career. He joined the league as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. The powerful athlete did impress scouts at the Pro Day where he recorded an impressive 4.79 second 40-yard dash.
Fans in England will be rooting for Clayton and hoping the young player can inspire a future generation of British athletes looking to break into the 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,” added Clayton.
