C-Mac
04-23-2005, 04:49 AM
Trade for Surtain fills huge hole for Chiefs
By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star
A world of possibilities for today's draft opened for the Chiefs with the completion of their trade for Miami Dolphins cornerback Patrick Surtain.
The Chiefs crossed cornerback off their must-have list. That makes them free in the first round to draft a defensive lineman like Wisconsin's Erasmus James, a linebacker such as Texas' Derrick Johnson, a safety/linebacker like Georgia's Thomas Davis, a corner such as Auburn's Carlos Rogers or even a wide receiver like Oklahoma's Mark Clayton.
Whatever the Chiefs do, they are no longer locked in to cornerback after sending their second-round pick to Miami for Surtain, a three-time Pro Bowler, and signing him to a seven-year contract that could pay him as much as $51 million. His immediate signing bonus is $6.25 million.
The teams also exchanged draft picks in the fifth round, allowing the Chiefs to move ahead 24 spots.
“It opens a lot of possibilities for us as far as the things we can do with our first-round draft pick,” Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said. “We could go for a wide receiver or we could go for a defensive player. At this point, we can do a lot of things.”
The trade for Surtain may be the Chiefs' biggest step yet in fixing their forlorn defense. They previously added two starters in linebacker Kendrell Bell and safety Sammy Knight and a reserve when they traded with Tennessee for end Carlos Hall.
But before finishing the trade Friday, the Chiefs still had a gaping hole at cornerback. Since first discussing a deal with Miami almost three months ago, the Chiefs resisted yielding their second-round choice.
The Dolphins remained insistent on getting it. They even, according to Surtain, asked for more after Houston this week sent a second- and a third-round pick to Oakland for a cornerback with lesser accomplishments, Phillip Buchanon.
This time, the Chiefs stood firm. In the end, they believed Surtain to be worth the price.
Surtain, who turns 29 in June, joins Eric Warfield in the starting lineup. Dexter McCleon is first in line as the nickel back. William Bartee and Julian Battle are the spares.
“He's a high-quality player,” Vermeil said. “We could not have drafted a player in the second round who could make the kind of immediate impact on our defense that he will.
“I think it's ideal. If you want to get better on defense, having players with his ability make it a lot easier. We've just got ourselves a good cover corner, a proven big-time player. We've done our homework in the evaluation process. We know what we're getting in Patrick Surtain, and we really don't see any flaws.”
Regardless of what happens in the draft, the Chiefs believe they are vastly improved.
“The No. 1 priority for our defense in the offseason was to add explosion,” defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said. “When the Kansas City Chiefs were a force on defense, you could the feel the explosion and you could see the turnovers.
“Sammy Knight and Patrick Surtain have proven they can take the ball away. Kendrell Bell gives us the ability to have a blitzing linebacker who can wreak havoc on the quarterback in the passing game. Carlos Hall does the same thing. He can close fast on the quarterback or the ball carrier.”
Surtain was in complete agreement.
“Anytime you have a player of my caliber, Sammy (Knight's) caliber, Kendrell Bell, Carlos Hall, of course your defense is going to get better,” he said. “At the same time, they've had some good defensive players in the past. You can't discount those guys because you need a full 11 to get the job done. It's still a team effort.
“I know what kind of player I am. I know what kind of player Kansas City is getting. I'm just looking forward to going out there, being a leader on this defense and getting this team to the next level. We're so close. The only thing we have to do is slow people down. We know we're going to put some points up.”
The Chiefs may not be finished renovating their defense. They still have their first-round pick and may be able to select from a group of defensive players who potentially could have an immediate impact.
Johnson and Rogers are likely to be gone by the time the Chiefs pick and possibly James, too. But the Chiefs visited last week at Arrowhead Stadium with all three, plus Davis and another possible first-round pick, Troy linebacker Demarcus Ware.
Davis played both safety and linebacker in college. Some NFL teams project Davis at one position and other teams at the other.
Regardless of where he plays, Davis might be the biggest hitter available in the draft. That's something the Chiefs have lacked.
“He could play wherever we need him the most,” Vermeil said. “Safety. Linebacker. Nickel linebacker. He's a football player.”
Linebacker is still the Chiefs most immediate need. The Chiefs have only eight linebackers under contract, and three starting candidates in Shawn Barber, Scott Fujita and Mike Maslowski have injury issues that could prevent them from playing some or all of the season.
President/general manager Carl Peterson indicated Barber and Fujita will be ready at some point during training camp, but privately the Chiefs are more concerned about Fujita.
“I'm a lot more optimistic about the recovery from injuries because I hear from our doctors and trainers every day specific to those guys who have had surgeries,” Peterson said. “(Linebacker) is still a position we'd like to improve.”
Bell is the only one of the five other linebackers to hold down an NFL starting position successfully. Kawika Mitchell will be given a shot at winning one of those jobs but hasn't lived up to the Chiefs' expectations since being picked in the second round two years ago.
“I'm sure there may be some difference of opinion here, but we really felt the last four or five games the light started to come on for him,” Peterson said. “He started to play well. He started to become the player he would be when we made him our second-round draft choice.
“I'm not giving up on the guys we have here, including the guys that are injured.”
By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star
A world of possibilities for today's draft opened for the Chiefs with the completion of their trade for Miami Dolphins cornerback Patrick Surtain.
The Chiefs crossed cornerback off their must-have list. That makes them free in the first round to draft a defensive lineman like Wisconsin's Erasmus James, a linebacker such as Texas' Derrick Johnson, a safety/linebacker like Georgia's Thomas Davis, a corner such as Auburn's Carlos Rogers or even a wide receiver like Oklahoma's Mark Clayton.
Whatever the Chiefs do, they are no longer locked in to cornerback after sending their second-round pick to Miami for Surtain, a three-time Pro Bowler, and signing him to a seven-year contract that could pay him as much as $51 million. His immediate signing bonus is $6.25 million.
The teams also exchanged draft picks in the fifth round, allowing the Chiefs to move ahead 24 spots.
“It opens a lot of possibilities for us as far as the things we can do with our first-round draft pick,” Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said. “We could go for a wide receiver or we could go for a defensive player. At this point, we can do a lot of things.”
The trade for Surtain may be the Chiefs' biggest step yet in fixing their forlorn defense. They previously added two starters in linebacker Kendrell Bell and safety Sammy Knight and a reserve when they traded with Tennessee for end Carlos Hall.
But before finishing the trade Friday, the Chiefs still had a gaping hole at cornerback. Since first discussing a deal with Miami almost three months ago, the Chiefs resisted yielding their second-round choice.
The Dolphins remained insistent on getting it. They even, according to Surtain, asked for more after Houston this week sent a second- and a third-round pick to Oakland for a cornerback with lesser accomplishments, Phillip Buchanon.
This time, the Chiefs stood firm. In the end, they believed Surtain to be worth the price.
Surtain, who turns 29 in June, joins Eric Warfield in the starting lineup. Dexter McCleon is first in line as the nickel back. William Bartee and Julian Battle are the spares.
“He's a high-quality player,” Vermeil said. “We could not have drafted a player in the second round who could make the kind of immediate impact on our defense that he will.
“I think it's ideal. If you want to get better on defense, having players with his ability make it a lot easier. We've just got ourselves a good cover corner, a proven big-time player. We've done our homework in the evaluation process. We know what we're getting in Patrick Surtain, and we really don't see any flaws.”
Regardless of what happens in the draft, the Chiefs believe they are vastly improved.
“The No. 1 priority for our defense in the offseason was to add explosion,” defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said. “When the Kansas City Chiefs were a force on defense, you could the feel the explosion and you could see the turnovers.
“Sammy Knight and Patrick Surtain have proven they can take the ball away. Kendrell Bell gives us the ability to have a blitzing linebacker who can wreak havoc on the quarterback in the passing game. Carlos Hall does the same thing. He can close fast on the quarterback or the ball carrier.”
Surtain was in complete agreement.
“Anytime you have a player of my caliber, Sammy (Knight's) caliber, Kendrell Bell, Carlos Hall, of course your defense is going to get better,” he said. “At the same time, they've had some good defensive players in the past. You can't discount those guys because you need a full 11 to get the job done. It's still a team effort.
“I know what kind of player I am. I know what kind of player Kansas City is getting. I'm just looking forward to going out there, being a leader on this defense and getting this team to the next level. We're so close. The only thing we have to do is slow people down. We know we're going to put some points up.”
The Chiefs may not be finished renovating their defense. They still have their first-round pick and may be able to select from a group of defensive players who potentially could have an immediate impact.
Johnson and Rogers are likely to be gone by the time the Chiefs pick and possibly James, too. But the Chiefs visited last week at Arrowhead Stadium with all three, plus Davis and another possible first-round pick, Troy linebacker Demarcus Ware.
Davis played both safety and linebacker in college. Some NFL teams project Davis at one position and other teams at the other.
Regardless of where he plays, Davis might be the biggest hitter available in the draft. That's something the Chiefs have lacked.
“He could play wherever we need him the most,” Vermeil said. “Safety. Linebacker. Nickel linebacker. He's a football player.”
Linebacker is still the Chiefs most immediate need. The Chiefs have only eight linebackers under contract, and three starting candidates in Shawn Barber, Scott Fujita and Mike Maslowski have injury issues that could prevent them from playing some or all of the season.
President/general manager Carl Peterson indicated Barber and Fujita will be ready at some point during training camp, but privately the Chiefs are more concerned about Fujita.
“I'm a lot more optimistic about the recovery from injuries because I hear from our doctors and trainers every day specific to those guys who have had surgeries,” Peterson said. “(Linebacker) is still a position we'd like to improve.”
Bell is the only one of the five other linebackers to hold down an NFL starting position successfully. Kawika Mitchell will be given a shot at winning one of those jobs but hasn't lived up to the Chiefs' expectations since being picked in the second round two years ago.
“I'm sure there may be some difference of opinion here, but we really felt the last four or five games the light started to come on for him,” Peterson said. “He started to play well. He started to become the player he would be when we made him our second-round draft choice.
“I'm not giving up on the guys we have here, including the guys that are injured.”