2016 NFL Draft interview: Rutgers LB Kaiwan Lewis

Fargnoli: What did you consider when choosing your agent?

Lewis: Really I had to consider how much he knows the game and how we can relate in a way. Also the process of my training and all the needs that I would have throughout the whole draft process. I also just talked to my parents, trying to see if we could agree on someone as well because I know my parents will always have my best interest.

Fargnoli: What have been some of the highlights of your draft preparation?

Lewis: It’s just been the traveling and meeting new people. Different things like that have been big highlights for me.

Fargnoli: Has anything about the preparation unexpectedly stood out to you?

Lewis: I would actually say the whole process because everything has been the first time for me and you’re only going to go through this process one time. It’s pretty much all come as a surprise day by day.

Fargnoli: Who is your support system as you take the next step as a football player?

Lewis: My family, definitely my mother, my father, and my brothers. I also have people that have actually played at the next level that I’ve talked to and have helped me keep me grounded as far as things I don’t understand or things I’m not sure how they should go. The day by day things as time moves on, these people that have been at that level have been helping me out because they’ve been in my shoes.

Fargnoli: As a kid, every football player dreamed of playing in the NFL. At what moment did you realize that this dream could actually become a reality?

Lewis: Pretty much when I started getting scholarship offers I felt like I was even closer to getting to that next level. The brighter the light at the end of that tunnel gets when you get those scholarships in high school and then when I got to college I started playing as a freshman and as a sophomore I started so it felt like the lights were coming on brighter and brighter with time.

Fargnoli: Would you share some of the more personal motivations and expectations you have as you continue your journey?

Lewis: A personal motivation and goal of mine is definitely to make the team at all costs and make the 53-man roster. Also my motivation is my family, I can’t speak about this enough. My brother Bilal Salaam, my older brother Kwashawn, and my younger brother as well, Knikeem, so all those people are key pieces for me.

Fargnoli: How will it feel to see yourself in Madden 17, the iconic game that we all love and grew up playing? 

Lewis: Oh wow, it’ll probably be almost the same feeling as it was when I first saw myself on NCAA but now I’ll actually have my whole name and things like that on there. It would just be surreal to be able to hold two games, I’ll have the NCAA game and now Madden so it would be a blessing and really huge.