Rams UDFA Payton Zdroik is Air Force One (technique)

FORT WORTH, TX - DECEMBER 23: Quarterback Jordan McCloud #2 of the James Madison Dukes is sacked by defensive lineman Payton Zdroik #96 of the Air Force Falcons in the second half of the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium on December 23, 2023 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images Life as a college student-athlete is challenging enough.

Throw on the responsibility of being an Air Force cadet and the difficulty is ratcheted up magnitudes higher. Only 12 players who graduated from the Air Force Academy have ever played a game in the NFL (not including several players who transferred out during their college careers). Los Angeles Rams undrafted free agent signee Payton Zdroik is trying to become the 13th.

To reach this level, even just making it to camp with an NFL team, football almost certainly has been your life for most of the time you’ve been alive. For Zdroik, who was a four-year starter in Colorado Springs for coach Troy Calhoun and the Falcons, the Air Force Academy has also been his entire life. The son of two Air Force graduates, Zdroik’s father Daniel and mother Kelly were both Falcons athletes as well, his dad playing halfback on the gridiron while his mom was a swimmer (sister Kaitlynn was a collegiate volleyball player, though she plied her craft at San Jose State ).

Even before his college career, for which he chose Air Force over one other FBS offer and four from the FCS ranks, he was familiar with representing the Air Force in football, having played for the Air Force Prep Academy. That alone makes for a nice, feel-good story, but one that Rams fans could probably shrug off and forget moments after the initial signing. Zdroik’s more than a fun family tale, though; he’s also a sawed-off weapon on the interior.