Kyu Blu Kelly: What’s In a Name; What’s In His Game?

On Saturday, a day before the Seattle Seahawks were set to host the Washington Commanders, Kyu Blu Kelly got the dreaded phone call.

He had been released.

So, he went back home to Las Vegas to plot the next step in his career.

The wait didn’t take long. On Monday, he was claimed off waivers by the Green Bay Packers.

“It happens quick. It happens quick,” Kelly said after his first practice with the team on Wednesday.

A fifth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens this year, this will be Kelly’s third team this season. Fortunately, he’s got someone to lean on at home.

“My dad played [in the NFL] for 12 years, luckily, so I have someone in the business,” Kelly said. “He said, ‘It’s your rookie year, man. You had a rough year going all over the place. A year from now might not even be like this. Just stay the course, do what you can and just make sure you make it worthwhile.’”

Brian Kelly was a second-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1998. He played 11 seasons for the Buccaneers before closing his career with the Lions in 2008. In 2002, the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl as Kelly led the NFL with eight interceptions.

Who’s got the better hands?

“I played receiver. He didn’t,” Kelly said with a smile.

Time will tell whether Kelly even gets close to his dad’s career mark of 22 interceptions. First, he’s got to get on the field and stick around.

Kelly was released by the Ravens at the end of training camp and claimed off waivers by the Seahawks. While he doesn’t have any experience playing defense in a regular-season game, he does have experience learning a defense on the fly, which is what he’ll be doing in Green Bay.

Kelly is joining a cornerback group consisting of All-Pro Jaire Alexander, rookie starter Carrington Valentine, veteran Corey Ballentine, slot Keisean Nixon and cornerback Robert Rochell, who joined the Packers off Carolina’s practice squad a few weeks ago.

“I got pretty good football IQ,” the former Stanford star said. “I’ve been in three defenses now. You see similarities around the league. Some people do the same things, different terminology – similar to Seattle, I’d say, as what you guys do here. So, it’s coming pretty fast.”

There’s one familiar face at Lambeau Field: defensive quality control coach Justin Hood coached the National Team’s defensive backs at the Senior Bowl.

“We had a bunch of draft meetings,” Kelly said. “He said, ‘Keep my number. You never know,’ and here I am.”

More than just a football player, Kelly is helping develop a video game based on a movie; the title for which he’s not allowed to share.

“I’m the chief creative officer of a video game I’m making and pairing into movie directing, too,” he said. “It’s just something I stumbled on. My dad’s friends with somebody who does that. He didn’t know a thing about video games. He thought this movie idea would be a great video game and they kind of streamlined me. I wrote a few scripts and they really liked it. That’s my outside-of-football hobby.”

Kelly was a communications major at Stanford; his experience in video games is purely from playing them.

“When I wrote the script, they were like, ‘Who did this?’ My dad’s like, “My son,’ and they’re like, ‘Well, we’d like to do some other things with it,’ but I tried to stay as much as I can into it.”

Kelly’s path to Green Bay is an interesting one. Almost as interesting as his name. How did he wind up with that unique name?

“My dad wanted Blu,” he explained. “We’re all in the delivery room. I’m crying, and my mom’s not feeling it and wants something with a K. They compromised Kyu Blu.”

Ultimately, the only thing that matters in Green Bay will be his ability to play football. It’s perhaps interesting to note that he’s a fifth-round pick and the Packers traded away their 2024 fifth-round pick along with cornerback Rasul Douglas to pick up a third-round pick in next year’s draft.

With only Alexander, Valentine and Kelly under contract beyond this year, he’s got a chance to show he can be part of the team’s future.

The tools are present. In 2021, he led the Pac-12 in passes defensed. Before this year’s draft, he measured 6-foot 1/4 and ran his 40 in 4.52 seconds. Combining all his testing numbers, he had a Relative Athletic Score of 8.72.

“Just versatility, somebody’s who played inside and outside, has special-teams background in the league and a healthy body,” he said. “Whatever they need me to do, it’s my first day. We’ll figure that out as it goes but, yeah, definitely all those things.”