SCARBOROUGH — Jayden Flaker was about to enter his freshman year at Scarborough High in August 2018 when he went to Gillette Stadium with his dad, Jay, and older brother, Jarett, to see the New England Patriots host Washington in an NFL preseason game.

Flaker had already begun to think about his own football future. He’d seen Jarett running past opponents as a sophomore standout for Scarborough’s 2017 Class A championship team. Jayden believed his brother could play in the NFL and, hey, he was already taller and bigger than Jarett.

“I’m there just watching these guys and there was a realization that I could compete with these guys,” Flaker said.

Next week, he’ll get a chance to prove his teenage self right.

Flaker, 21, a 6-foot-3, 239-pound linebacker who played primarily on special teams the past two seasons at Memphis, received a mini-camp invite from the Buffalo Bills. Travel costs, lodging and meals will be taken care of by the Bills, but there are no guarantees for Flaker.

Flaker will arrive May 7 and have the next two days to show Bills coaches he warrants a callback to preseason training camp, with the ultimate goal getting a job in the NFL.

“I got a mini-camp invite. I have to go prove myself,” Flaker said.

BUFFALO-BOUND

Flaker was not selected in the seven-round NFL Draft, which was held April 23-25, nor has he signed as an undrafted free agent. But he knew he was headed to Buffalo before the draft was over.

His agent, Robert Walker of U.S. Sports Management, gave him a call midway through the seventh round. Flaker was at home in Scarborough with his parents, Jay and Edette. Walker’s message was crisp and to the point: Flaker was going to Buffalo.

“I looked my mom direct in the eye and said, ‘I’m a Bill,’ and she started crying. And my dad stood up and that hug was unreal,” Flaker said.

BUCKING THE ODDS

Flaker has had to prove doubters wrong before.

A 2022 Scarborough graduate, he did not make the 2021 Varsity Maine Football All-State team after an injury-riddled senior season as a wide receiver and safety. He wasn’t getting any real attention from college recruiters, despite his size, speed and having the athletic agility to win multiple Class A hurdle championships.

Having his junior season eliminated because Maine was one of four states that did not play high school tackle football in 2020 because of pandemic restrictions didn’t help.

It wasn’t until he went to an all-star game in Florida and won team MVP honors — and played as a defensive end/outside linebacker for the first time — that college coaches took notice, including those at North Carolina Central University, a Division I Football Championship Subdivision team and one of the top historically Black programs.

As a true freshman, Flaker made an immediate impact at NCCU. He made the tackle on the season-opening kickoff and later blocked a punt against rival North Carolina A&T in a nationally televised game in front of 35,000-plus fans in Charlotte. That season, North Carolina Central won the HBCU national title by beating Jackson State (coached by Deion Sanders) in the Celebration Bowl in front of nearly 50,000 fans at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

As a sophomore, Flaker led the Mid-Eastern Conference with 85 tackles (10 for loss, 4.5 sacks) and was named an HBCU All-American as NCCU made its first appearance in the FCS playoffs. In a first-round loss to Richmond, Flaker had a game-high 11 tackles.

“Being an HBCU All-American, leading the team in tackles, that made me feel the NFL was a real possibility. … Like something I could grasp,” Flaker said.

Flaker transferred to Memphis to play at the top level of Division I. He admits now he lost a bit of his work ethic edge as a junior, thinking he’d roll right into a starting spot with the Tigers. He played in every game in 2024, making two tackles.

As a senior, he devoted himself to becoming a superior special teams player, though he also saw defensive snaps and started one game. As the first man down the field on punt and kickoff coverage — the gunner, in football parlance — Flaker was in on 17 tackles and forced two fumbles. As late into the season as Nov. 7, he was the top-rated college special teams player by Pro Football Focus.

Now he intends to show the Buffalo Bills that he can make a similar impact at the NFL level.

“I just have to prove every day why I’m an asset to them,” Flaker said. “I think I’m a really great special teams player, and I’m also a long, fast defender who’s really big.”