LA Rams Terrell Lewis could be the next NFL star edge rusher

Great work ethic

Gifted players oftentimes relax on the competitive front when their physical skills give them a distinct competitive advantage, particularly at the collegiate level. 18-year-old freshmen who are still growing and developing can compete with redshirt seniors of 22 years of age, who have added five years in the gym and on the practice field. Those older players can ease back on the throttle, banking on their superior physique, speed, and experience to win week in and week out.

That’s not the case for Terrell Lewis. His collegiate career had enough intermissions to hammer home the value of making the most of his chances to play the game he loves. And to play at the level he desires, he is willing to put in the work. That laborious grind of getting better, stronger, more flexible, each and every day.

Autopilot to manual override

So far, NFL rookies have only gotten instructions from their host NFL teams. That and virtual contact. But if there is to be an NFL season, the players will need to have direct contact with three things: the practice field, their coaching staff, and other NFL players.  Football, in any form, must include those three pieces. And when that finally happens, we’ll have all the evidence we need as to just how good Terrell Lewis can be.

Until that time when Terrell Lewis steps onto the field, meets his coaches face to face and can greet his teammates in the training facility and tackle them on the scrimmage field, we wait. At some point, the NFL will remove the holding pattern and the risks of COVID-19 will diminish enough to allow the business of NFL training to commence. When it does, we’ll be there, doing what Terrell Lewis had done before. We’ll study videos. We’ll diagnose the plays, tracking the tendencies of offensive players. Because let’s be real, there is a piece of Terrell Lewis in each of us. And conversely, as in all truly great NFL stars who achieve greatness in the sport they love most of all, there will be a piece of all of us in him.