EL SEGUNDO — Marlowe Wax and Nikko Reed arrived at the Chargers’ training camp last month feeling confident in their abilities and in their respective chances to make the team. Or as confident as they could be after they went undrafted and, in Reed’s case, uninvited to the draft combine in Indianapolis.
Undrafted free agents tend to come and go each summer, frequently victims of numbers games and the unwritten desire of NFL general managers, coaches and coordinators to hang onto their draft picks at the expense of players who have come to training camp off the street.
Wax and Reed were longshots, in other words. That they made the Chargers’ 53-man roster earlier this week speaks to their ability to make the most of their opportunities during camp and during the four preseason games they played. Seizing the moment proved to be their superpowers.
Wax, an inside linebacker from Syracuse, seemed to be everywhere all at once, especially in preseason games. Reed, a cornerback from Oregon, was a ballhawk in practices and during games, especially while returning an interception 60 yards against the Detroit Lions in the Hall of Fame Game.
When it came to cutdown day, Wax and Reed couldn’t have been more different. Wax said he was a bundle of nerves, believing he had done enough to make the 53-man roster, but unsure if it would actually happen. Reed was calm, cool and collected as Tuesday’s deadline neared.
“Every day after the game (last Saturday against the San Francisco 49ers), my story was all over the place, I was a little bit scared,” Wax said. “I mean, every rookie, every guy, wasn’t feeling right. But at that moment, there was a lot of praying, a lot of talking to my family, talking to my agent, of course.”
Wax got word Tuesday that he made the team.
So did Reed.
“Confident, for sure,” Reed said of awaiting the news that he would either make the 53-man roster or get cut. “Especially after the game (against the 49ers), I had a good game, so I was confident. I had been going good since I first got here (in spring practices). I had a lot of talks with family and friends.”
It remains to be determined if Wax and Reed stick with the Chargers, though. It’s possible they could land on the practice squad or get cut as the season progresses. Neither player is listed high on the Chargers’ unofficial depth chart. There are seasoned veterans ahead of them at their respective positions.
Judging by their play so far, it would be a mistake to count them out and write them off as fringe players with little to nothing to contribute. Yes, they made the team, but they each had a clear sense they had much more to accomplish in the days, weeks and months to come.
“It’s definitely something I’m happy about, but the work doesn’t stop,” Wax said. “It’s definitely hard to sit back and reflect because you’re just going and going and going. But, my family, they love to reflect for me and let me know how far I’ve come, and I appreciate that. Next day, it’s right back to work.”
Reed said he wasn’t motivated by being snubbed in the draft in April. Apparently, it’s something he’s grown accustomed to during his football career, something that doesn’t drive him, but does please him when he proves his value to a team that might have been unsure about him at first.
It was obvious to anyone who watched him practice or play that there was a desire to succeed, though.
“I feel like I’ve always been an underdog,” he said. “I don’t have a chip on my shoulder. I just knew my story was going to be different. It’s been different since high school. It’s always been the same thing. It’s always been the same outcome. I feel like it’s really not about how you start, it’s how you finish.
“It’s about how much work you put in. I was never been invited to camps when I was in high school. That’s why I say it’s always the same thing.”