Jaaron Hayek interview: Chiefs wide receiver on the joys and struggles of the NFL dream

We sat down with Chiefs wide receiver Jaaron Hayek to hear about his journey from Villanova to the pros.

If you look closely, you might realize something interesting about the roster of the Kansas City Chiefs—namely, that there's a disproportional representation of Villanova players.

This spring, the Chiefs decided to invite three players from Villanova to their rookie minicamp and two of them ended up earning official contracts to land a spot on the team's 90-man offseason roster after going undrafted in the spring: offensive lineman Nick Torres and wide receiver Jaaron Hayek.

For Hayek, the contract offer from Kansas City was a dream come true and the end—at least temporarily—of an arduous, emotional journey from college to the pros. After several months of limited interest, of comparisons to others getting more acclaim, of questioning what will happen if football is indeed over, Hayek finally got his chance.

These days, Hayek is one month into his career with the Chiefs and awaiting mandatory minicamp as the next step for proving he belongs. From there, it's on to St. Joseph and training camp in the hopes of making his presence felt when a new season is coming into view.

We recently sat down with Hayek to hear more about the surreal experience of joining the Chiefs, his off-the-field interests, and what it was like to sit with a silent phone even after the NFL Draft had ended.