Louis Rees-Zammit is set to make his debut this weekend for the Kansas City Chiefs, as the defending Super Bowl champions start their pre-season campaign.

The former Wales wing is set to get his first taste of genuine American football action, when the Chiefs take on Jacksonville Jaguars – with the game at EverBank Stadium taking place in the early hours of Sunday morning in the UK.

For Rees-Zammit, it marks a remarkable journey from deciding to leave behind Welsh rugby at the start of the year to pursue a dream of making it in the NFL.

With the reward of a roster place up for grabs at the end of the Chiefs’ three-game pre-season, whatever chances Rees-Zammit gets could be crucial in Jacksonville – with parents Joe and Maxine set to be in the stands watching on.

Dad Joe enjoyed his own spell playing the game, albeit in the UK rather than Stateside, and has even been passing on tips to his son around the areas of his game that most need work.

While there have been, as one might expect from Rees-Zammit, eye-catching moments, it has been the slow development of the basics over the summer which will ultimately decide whether the 23-year-old has a future in the game.

There’s no doubting what the 2021 Lions tourist can do in a bit of space, but it’s the little things – like running with a helmet, getting pad height right and reading a running lane – which he’s had to learn quickly.

When he’s done that, he has shown he can be almost untouchable at times. When he hasn’t, he’s ended up running into team-mates rather than open running lanes.

In the hours and days before his debut, more words on the Welshman have been committed to print as American interest in this unique story grows. Sports Illustrated have penned a feature on Rees-Zammit, while the Athletic have chronicled his rapid growth in Chiefs’ training camp.

Perhaps the most interesting part of that is what would be defined as Rees-Zammit’s ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment. Most players who make it to the the league have that specific moment where they’re humbled a little as the scale of the step-up becomes apparent.

For Rees-Zammit, that moment supposedly came towards the end of last month, when Rees-Zammit was pitted against linebacker Cole Christiansen in a one-on-one drill.

With Patrick Mahomes in the pocket, Rees-Zammit was all that stood between Christiansen and the superstar quarter-back. The Welshman got his height wrong and, according to the Athletic, the linebacker literally knocked him out of his boots.

“It’s very physical,” Rees-Zammit said this week. “I’ve had to learn to adapt and lower my body height. In rugby, that’s not too much of a big deal. The blows you take here are pretty big. To be honest with you, it’s a completely different sport.

“I’ve never had to pass protect before. It’s actually illegal in rugby. I have to try to pick it up as quickly as possible. I’m not going to be amazing to start with.”

It’s been no secret that pass protection and blocking has been one of Rees-Zammit’s biggest work-ons. One of the Chiefs assistant coaches, Dave Toub, has already moved him onto pass protection with the punt team to get him extra work in training to improve on that front.

He’s also been leaning on his dad for any nuggets of advice. “He’s been giving me some tips and tricks on pass protection — getting in close, shooting my hands and dropping my height,” he said.

All of that has paid off, it would seem. The Athletic add that moments after losing his footwear, he did a better job of keeping Christiansen away from Mahomes.

There have been other little victories, with local journalists writing about one-on-one battles won in pass protection or neat fade routes that have demonstrated his speed.

Such is the spotlight on the NFL, every rep or training drill is noteworthy in some way or another.

In a matter of hours, they’ll have something more definitive to judge Rees-Zammit’s credentials on.