Last year, Travis Clayton was working for a company that conducted pre-employment background checks. He was also playing for his local rugby team, Basingstoke, in the eighth tier of English rugby. However, the 23-year-old Briton now has one of the most coveted jobs in world sport – an American football player.

After a whirlwind 2024, Clayton is set to begin his first season with the Buffalo Bills, who pulled off a shock in this year’s NFL draft by selecting a player who was yet to play a single game.

“Last year I was working an office job,” he told BBC Sport. “I certainly didn’t think I’d be stood here now playing for the Bills, I can tell you that. But I always had the passion to get into American football. I just needed a pathway to get pushed into.”

How did Clayton catch the eye?

Clayton played several sports growing up and, in 2019, he attended a trial for the NFL Academy, which was launched that year in the UK. The programme gives teenagers from Europe and Africa full-time coaching and an education, with a view to them earning college scholarships in the US.

Clayton only spent a brief period with the academy, not realizing the opportunity it offered him, so when his second chance came along, he was determined to take full advantage.

He attended a trial for the NFL’s International Player Pathway, launched in 2017, and along with Wales rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit, was among the 16 athletes selected for the 2024 programme.

In January, they flew to the US for a 10-week training camp, and Clayton was earmarked as an offensive lineman, a player whose main job is to block opponents and protect their own quarterback, rather than running with the ball.

“I remember the first session in Florida,” he said. “It was all about getting your body in awkward positions that I hadn’t been in before. In rugby, a lot of the time you’re on your toes. As an offensive lineman, you’re more flat-footed, so it was about adjusting to the different angles of your hips and your legs.”

Clayton was adjusting well, as he demonstrated in March at his Pro Day, when college players are assessed by NFL scouts before the draft in April.

Clayton’s playing position was determined by his size. He is 6ft 7in and weighs 301lbs. Yet it was his speed that made teams sit up and take notice. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.79secs, the fastest time recorded by an offensive lineman in 10 years.

“That’s quite rare, for a 300lb man,” he said. “That’s when I thought some teams might be interested.”

Getting used to his new office

Clayton then visited five NFL teams. They did not include Buffalo, although Clayton did have a call with one of the Bills’ coaches to “go through some basics” before the draft.

Clayton attended the three-day event in Detroit with four other IPP players and, late in the third day, they were set to be introduced together on stage to highlight the programme.

“It got to a point where I thought ‘I don’t think I’m going to get picked’,” said Clayton. “Then my agent got a call from the Bills. I didn’t know they were fully interested so I was surprised.”

After a brief trip home, Clayton reported for duty less than two weeks later. On his first day in Buffalo, he signed his rookie contract, met star quarterback Josh Allen and got acquainted with his new office.

“I don’t think it really kicked in until I saw my name in the locker room,” Clayton said. “That’s when I thought ‘OK, now I’m in this business. Now it’s time to work’.”

Since May, Clayton has been going through the rigours of pre-season training, tackling NFL players for the first time. He has had to learn the playbook, pre-snap cadences, even how to put his pads on.

“It’s been a great experience but, for me, it’s a developmental period,” Clayton added.

“I just need to grow as a player, keep improving and getting that extra 1% every day.”

Will Clayton play this season?

All five IPP players that were on stage in Detroit are now with NFL teams.

They have been part of their team’s training squad, aiming to earn a spot on the 53-man active roster for the regular season. Teams must submit them before 21:00 BST on Tuesday, 27 August.

However, Clayton is unlikely to make the cut. His chances were hit by a shoulder injury at the end of July.

That has denied him the opportunity to play in any of the Bills’ three pre-season games, so he is still waiting to play his first game of American football.

But Clayton, as with all IPP players, can remain on the team’s practice squad during the season and be promoted to the active roster up to three times.

That would depend on how he trains during the season and whether he develops like Jordan Mailata, the only other IPP player to be selected in the draft.

In 2018, the Australian was also an offensive lineman with no American football experience, but enough potential for a team to take a chance on him in the seventh round.

The Philadelphia Eagles saw Mailata as a long-term project.

He did not play until 2020 – but the gamble ultimately paid off.

Mailata is now one of the league’s best and helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl in 2023.

The Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane said drafting Clayton was “a shot worth taking”, and that “if he came even close to [Mailata], it would be well worth that selection”.

Only time will tell on that front.