Edwards says Chiefs are just being diligent about Ryan

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Edwards says Chiefs are just being diligent about Ryan
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

Matt Ryan threw for NFL coaches and scouts on Tuesday. The fuss started when Herm Edwards walked through the door.

As the only head coach at the campus workout of quarterback Matt Ryan and his Boston College teammates, Edwards created a stir by his mere presence on Tuesday. He was joined by president/general manager Carl Peterson and offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, making the Chiefs the only team with so many high-profile representatives.

Edwards had his picture taken while talking with Ryan, and it moved on the Associated Press wire. He answered questions afterward in what amounted to a news conference regarding Ryan, generally considered the top quarterback available in this year’s draft.

All of which means . . . what, exactly? It was impossible to determine that answer, even on Wednesday, after Edwards returned to Kansas City. It could signal their intentions to draft Ryan or it could be an elaborate bluff.

That’s just the sort of doubt the Chiefs, who hold the fifth pick in the draft next month, hoped to create.

“It just means we’re looking at everybody,” Edwards said. “I’m going to LSU next week. They’ve got a defensive tackle down there, some wide receivers, some defensive backs. I went to Cal last week. They’ve got seven guys there. I was on the news there, too. I was the only head coach there.

“You’ll never know who we’re going to draft. Maybe we’re playing poker here. That’s what’s great about it.”

Usually, Edwards wouldn’t make such a trip unless the Chiefs’ interest is genuine. And it’s not as if the Chiefs are solid at quarterback. They remain hopeful that Brodie Croyle will develop into something special but also realize that may never occur.

But it’s also difficult picturing the Chiefs spending a premium draft choice on a quarterback when they have so many other positions of desperate need. Foremost is the offensive line, and Boston College offers one of the draft’s best tackle prospects in Gosder Cherilus.

“(Ryan) didn’t work out at the combine,” Edwards said. “We wanted to see him work out. And you know they’ve got a left tackle there, too. But we figured we needed to see (Ryan) work out because you never know what’s going to happen in the draft. You’d hate to be sitting there, and all of a sudden the guy falls into your lap and you never saw him work out and never visited with him. So we’re just doing our due diligence with the kid.

“He looked good. He’s a good player. He’s got a lot of good qualities. He’s won a lot of games. That’s what you like to see. That catches your attention. He’s the No. 1-rated quarterback. You want to see all of those guys, those seven or eight guys, that you feel could be there when you pick. You want to have a good feel for all of them.”

As far as the photo with Ryan and the postworkout news conference, Edwards has never been shy about taking his place before the cameras and tape recorders. But he insisted that at least this time that wasn’t part of the plan.

“The workout started at 10 (a.m.), but he didn’t throw until 2 (p.m.),” Edwards said. “They let these other schools work out first. It was a marathon, but he was just sitting there. He’s down there talking to his coordinator, and I just sat down talking to him to try to relax the guy. There were all of these cameras around the guy.

“The other thing about it is that when the workout was done, they had a (public-relations) guy at the school, and he asked me to come in and speak to the press. I said OK, figuring there would be one or two guys there. It was like after a game there were so many guys there. The whole room was packed. So I sat down and did a press conference for about 25 minutes.”

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