KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Welcome to the league, rookies. A week after the NFL draft, life in the league had already begun for nine teams.
Derrick Nnadi talks to Kansas City media.
Hampton Roads had five players in total drafted, and three were partaking in the first wave of rookie minicamps.
Derrick Nnadi (Ocean Lakes HS) with the Chiefs, Jalyn Holmes (Lake Taylor HS) with the Vikings, and Trent Cannon (Kecoughtan HS) with the Jets.
Drafted in the third round by the Chiefs, Nnadi is expected to play right away and help beef up Kansas City's defensive line. Ironically, Nnadi says one of the staples of KC, it's renowned barbecue, is going to beef him up.
"When I first got drafted, people were telling me how great the barbecue is," Nnadi said after Saturday's minicamp session. "After today, I tried it, it's one of the best of my life. I had some brisket, some sausage, some rib, some pulled pork, wooh! Oh my goodness."
Jalyn Holmes (Courtesy: Minnesota Vikings)
Maybe Jalyn Holmes, the Vikings fourth round draft pick, can get a meal plan from Nnadi. The Norfolk native played defensive end at Ohio State, but the Vikings are going to move Holmes inside to play defensive tackle.
Despite having to bulk up a bit, Holmes has expereinced veterans in front of him to learn from, and he says he has the intangibles needed to make the transition.
"Really, I'm just coachable," Holmes said. "It doesn't have anything to do with skills, I'm just coachable. I'm willing to do what I go to do to play any position that the coach wants me to play." Holmes says the Vikings want him to bulk up to between 290 and 295-pounds.
Trent Cannon blasted up to the New York Jets facility for his first chance to prove himself. Leaving Virginia State as the all-time leading rusher is quite the feat, but coming from a small school, people will doubt him.
Trent Cannon.
The chip on his shoulder is rather large as he tries to show he belongs on the field with the rest of the rookies this weekend. "I belong here, you know, I feel like I belong here," said Cannon.
"I felt that way the whole 14 years of college. I knew it would come one day. I mean, I'm still soaking it in right now. Like I said, I feel like I should have been here already. I was blessed to get drafted, and I'm blessed to be a Jet."
