Chiefs interview seven QBs at combine
 

CHIEFS
Chiefs interview seven QBs at combine
February 23
BY ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

INDIANAPOLIS — The Chiefs have had interviews with seven draft-eligible quarterbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine and plan to speak with an eighth Saturday night.

Chiefs general manager John Dorsey and coach Andy Reid were among club officials who met with quarterbacks Geno Smith of West Virginia, Matt Barkley of USC, Tyler Wilson of Arkansas, Mike Glennon of North Carolina State, Ryan Nassib of Syracuse, Zac Dysert of Miami (Ohio) and Tyler Bray of Tennessee.

The Chiefs were scheduled to meet with Florida State’s E. J. Manuel later Saturday.

“Collectively, I thought they did a good job,” Reid said. “There wasn’t anybody where I said, ‘This guy is terrible.’ That’s not the way it was. What you’ve got to do is you’ve got to keep studying, spent more time with them. This is just kind of an introduction for now.

“We weren’t (crossing) guys off our list when it was over. You felt like they could all hang and do a good job and you wanted to know more. There wasn’t anybody where you said, ‘Forget about this guy.’ That wasn’t the case with any of these guys.”

The Chiefs, who hold the first pick in this year’s draft, are spending plenty of researching quarterbacks available in the draft. While they are unlikely to select a quarterback with the first pick, the Chiefs may invest a subsequent pick in a quarterback.

To that end, Dorsey said the Chiefs would set up personal workouts for most of the draft’s top quarterbacks and at many, both Dorsey and Reid would be present. In any case, the Chiefs will attend the pro day for all of the top quarterbacks.

“Every one of those guys will be worked out by a representative of the Kansas City Chiefs,” Dorsey said.

Dorsey and Reid previously met with Nassib, Wilson, Dysert and a fourth quarterback, Oklahoma’s Landry Jones, at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., last month. For the others, this was their first introduction to the Chiefs.

“You finally get to meet him one on one as a person,” Dorsey said. “You get a brief understanding of where they’re from. You understand the environment they were cultured in and how they were nurtured through the tree of life. You understand how much they’ve been exposed to from an X and O standpoint in their college career. You look at the maturity level of their person. You look at their work habits. You see if they have the combination of variables to lead grown men. That’s a huge responsibility. You have veteran players looking to you to lead the team.

“You could tell they have depth of understanding. They’re all good kids. They all want to please. They all want to do well. They want to win. You can see that in how they come across. They’re well-prepared. The next step is to take them off script.”

That’s the purpose of the personal workouts, which the Chiefs will run. Most of the quarterbacks will also throw for NFL scouts at the combine on Sunday.

Each of the combine interviews lasted just 15 minutes.

“You’ve got them for a 15-minute blast,” Reid said. “You’re trying to cover a lot of territory. You definitely don’t want to do a lot of talking … so we covered all the points on their upbringing and family and all that and then you kind of ease your way into the football part of it. Before you know it, the horns are blowing.”

While with their previous teams, Dorsey and Reid were known for drafting quarterbacks in later rounds who eventually developed into starters. Dorsey, with Green Bay, was with a team that selected Mark Brunell, Matt Hasselbeck and Matt Flynn in the fifth or later round.

In 14 seasons with Reid as their coach, the Eagles drafted A.J. Feeley, Kevin Kolb and Nick Foles after the first round.

“There will be somebody at that position that goes in the second, third, fourth round and he works out,” Reid said. “We just have to go through that and evaluate it and that takes time.”

Smoke Screen

“There will be somebody at that position that goes in the second, third, fourth round and he works out,” Reid said. “We just have to go through that and evaluate it and that takes time.

Yep. QB at 34. Tyler Wilson

Yeah, we need to smokescreen the #1 pick ! DIP!

That quote definitely sounds like NO QB in the first...

why?

The only possible reason to use a 'smoke screen' would contract negotiations with that pick and that really no longer is an issue because of the Rookie Salary Cap.

In fact, playing down the QB's actually reduces any possible trade down leverage.

@nfldraftscout: Two league sources tell me there's a "5% chance the #Chiefs draft Geno Smith". Mention Alex Smith, Nick Foles atop wishlist.

Well if you're going out and saying that this qb class kicks total ass, people are going to know you're full of shit and won't buy anything.

They just gotta sell they could take whatever shit player a team underneath them wants.

That's right. Reid / Dorseys plan is to make everybody THINK we're gonna draft Joekel, then BAM we draft E.J Manuel with the 1st and everybody is so confused that Geno falls all the way to 34

They could literally say anything they want.

There's no reason for them to use a smokescreen but there's also literally no reason for them to tell the truth.

For instance, if they're pursuing Alex Smith or Foles as a backup, telling the world they intend to take a QB #1 potentially undermines that effort and limits their leverage.

Too much smoke here, and way too early.

Starting to remind me of the "95% done deal Reid is going to Arizona".

The private workouts will be the key.

until those, people are just guessing

Yep.

http://i.qkme.me/362nk1.jpg

Chiefs are focusing on the QB position, that is good. I think there is a possibilty that the Chiefs could draft more than one QB...maybe Geno with their first pick, and another qb in the third, fourth, round. None of our qbs are NFL worthy, and Reid knows it, even if he is too polite to say it.