‘Stay humble.’ Before NFL Draft, some advice from Chiefs’ Noah Gray, former players
In just a few days, life as he knows it could change forever. But before he finds out if his name is called from the podium at the NFL Draft, Ruskin High School graduate Ikenna Enechukwu played with the kids Wednesday.
He, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray and former Chiefs players huddled with a handful of Children’s Mercy patients and their parents inside the hospital’s new Children’s Mercy Research Institute building.
The players sat with the kids, some in wheelchairs, at stations set up with games and markers for coloring. The men autographed footballs and posed for pictures.
In a room full of NFL experience, Enechukwu, who played football for Rice University, drew the attention from the media present.
He stands on the cusp of a new life, a possible late-round draftee who is unafraid to say that the Chiefs are his dream team.
“It’s humbling. This is just the beginning of it. He has no idea,” said Mark Collins, who played for the New York Giants — a second-round draft pick — Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks and Chiefs. “Once you get involved with it, once you’re in, everything comes with it, including this, giving back.
“It is a lot of changes. The attention that comes upon you, the pressures that come upon you. Not just from the media, but from your community, your family, from your school. A lot of pressure, and how you deal with it is all up to you. Just embrace it.”
Enechukwu hoped to have some time to grab advice from the veteran players there. “I want to ask what types of mistakes they made,” he said.
Oh, those happen, said Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray, who showed up in a red Chiefs jersey. He said he’s been kicking back and traveling a lot since the team’s Super Bowl win. (No Super Bowl ring yet.)
“Sometimes you get ahead of yourself but I think it takes good teammates and good friends and family to reel you back in and help you stay the course,” said Gray, who played for Duke University. The Chiefs picked him in Round 5 of the 2021 draft.
Gray said he relies now on a support system that includes his family, friends in Kansas City and former college teammates.
His advice to the draftees?
“Just stay humble and work hard. That’s what I would tell my younger self if I could go back in time,” said Gray.
Collins said he congratulated Enechukwu and wished him luck, telling him, “The first step is getting in the door. Once you get in, try to stay in.”
He said being an NFL player brings “a magnitude of celebrity” that players need to use properly to give back to others, to do things like visit children in the hospital.
“Treat people the way you want to be treated,” said Collins. “Honestly? Just be humble.”
Enechukwu is not one of the 17 college players coming to Kansas City as top prospects. He won’t be walking the red carpet or enjoying green-room privileges backstage at Union Station, the event’s epicenter.
He’ll be watching the draft at home in Kansas City with family and friends.
“I’m not nervous at all,” he insisted. “Just grateful. Just happy, honestly. Best week of my life so far.”
He said having the draft in Kansas City “feels amazing. It’s good for the city. It’s good for exposure.”
Should his name be called, he said, his celebration will likely involve “eating some good food.”
This story was originally published April 26, 2023 at 1:57 PM.
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