We spoke with Chiefs cornerback Ashton Lampkin about intercepting Jameis Winston in his first college start and his hopes for making the Chiefs.
Ashton Lampkin is living his dream, a surreal experience of playing on the field with the Kansas City Chiefs against guys he’s followed and watched for years and yet he’s keeping his head on straight, knowing that it all could disappear in a moment. The former Oklahoma State star says it helps to be friends with current NFL players like Dez Bryant, to get advice on making the transition to the pros.
“As a guy that knows a lot of guys that went through the journey undrafted or drafted first round, I always reach out to those guys and ask them how rookie minicamp went or how the process goes,” says Lampkin. “They help me realize what it takes to be in this league and what to bring to the table when it comes time to show what you have.”
Some of that advice has been to never take a play off, since a team can make a move at any time to replace a person on the roster. Competition never ends in the NFL, and Lampkin understands that. The cornerback says he’s not once celebrated since signing with the Chiefs or even making it beyond the team’s rookie minicamp.
There’s never a time and place where I’ll be satisfied.
“I’m still out here fighting and grinding every day. That doesn’t even stop after you make the team, since anything can happen at any time. There’s never a moment where I’ll think, “Oh, I’ve made it.” I’m not like that. I’m going to go out here and work every day even if I was drafted in the first round or second round. I’ll feel like I need to be out here like a free agent knowing other guys are out here fighting to compete every single day. There’s never a time and place where I’ll be satisfied.”
Lampkin works hard knowing that it’s an uphill climb for an undrafted free agent to beat the odds and make the roster, but he’s also quite confident in his abilities—a feeling that really came to fruition during his first collegiate start, when as a redshirt freshman he intercepted the previous year’s Heisman Trophy winner.
“My first career start in college football was the moment I realized I could potentially do this,” says Lampkin. “We were playing Florida State, the defending champions that had just come off of a national championship win, and one of my best games was against those guys. When you can intercept him in your first game starting and you’re in your hometown with all of my family was there, that was just a great moment for me.
The night before that game, I promise, I put my right hand to God, I envisioned myself picking that dude off and throwing up an ‘x’ to Dez Bryant.
“The craziest thing about it is that I had a dream the night before. Coach Gundy always told us to envision ourselves making plays 10 or 15 minutes before we go to bed. So as you close your eyes, you envision making plays. So the night before that game, I promise, I put my right hand to God, I envisioned myself picking that dude off and throwing up an ‘x’ to Dez Bryant. Dez and I are real good friends with him being an Oklahoma State alumni and then he also lives in the city. From him being around the same area, we’ve become friends. So the night before, I pictured all of that, so it’s crazy that the exact same thing happened.”
So far the Chiefs have asked Lampkin to learn various roles of the secondary in his first two weeks, through the team’s rookie minicamp and into OTAs. Lampkin, who was also a special teams standout at Oklahoma State, says he’s happy to do whatever it takes, including learning new positions, in order to make the team. That includes long snapper.
“You gotta come in and make your presence felt on any position you can play in the secondary,” he says. “You gotta do what it takes the play the team. If you’re only playing one position, you’re not an asset to the team. So I’ll do whatever I can for the team, whether that’s special teams, nickel, corner, safety. If I have to be the deep snapper, I’ll do that to make the team.”
Lampkin says it also helps to have a long-time teammate and friend in Jordan Sterns in Kansas City trying to accomplish the same. Sterns and Lampkin have manned the defensive backfield together for the Cowboys since 2013 and now get a chance to extend that playing relationship with the Chiefs.
We both have the requirements of what it takes. If it doesn’t happen here, it will happen somewhere else.
“It’s a blessing in disguise to be here with a brother, grinding, talking about the things we need to work on,” says Lampkin about being on the same team as Sterns. “We’re both defensive backs, so we get to help each other out when studying the plays and correct each other when we’re doing things wrong on and off the field. It’s definitely a blessing to have my brother grinding here with me. It’s been great. He’s been doing awesome out there, too.”
Lampkin insists there’s zero competition between the two of them, knowing that each of them would be thrilled for the other if he were to make the final 53-man roster.
“He’s my brother. No matter what happens here or if it happens on another team, we’re both ready to play in this league. We both have the requirements of what it takes. If it doesn’t happen here, it will happen somewhere else. I would never backstab my brother or wish hateful things on him. If anything, I’m more than happy for him and likewise with him. It’s all definitely a blessing.”
So far, Lampkin sounds like a consummate pro, a veteran with a perspective on the game, the team and the goal. While he’s currently technically one of several undrafted rookies just trying to stay on the team week to week, he projects a quiet confidence and humble wisdom typically associated with team captains.
“I want to be an asset to the team, not just make it. I want to help them win the championship,” says Lampkin. “That’s the goal here and I can sense that in the locker room. You can feel that presence when you walk into the stadium and the facility. You can feel the guys here are all about winning football games. They’re not lollygagging or doing whatever they want.
“These guys will hold you accountable. If you’re not making plays, they’ll say, ‘Get that guy out, since he’s not making plays.’ There’s a strong leadership in the locker room. I love it. It makes you want to work harder and contribute and do whatever you can to win a Super Bowl for these guys.”