INDIANAPOLIS — The Chiefs have had interviews with seven draft-eligible quarterbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine and planned to speak with an eighth Saturday night.
NFL Draft
Chiefs interview seven QBs at combine
February 23
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
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 States E.J. Manuel later Saturday.
Collectively, I thought they did a good job, Reid said. There wasnt anybody where I said, This guy is terrible. Thats not the way it was. What youve got to do is youve got to keep studying, spent more time with them. This is just kind of an introduction for now.
We werent (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 wasnt anybody where you said, Forget about this guy. That wasnt the case with any of these guys.
The Chiefs, who hold the first pick in this years draft, are spending plenty of time 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 drafts 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, Oklahomas 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 theyre from. You understand the environment they were cultured in and how they were nurtured through the tree of life. You understand how much theyve 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. Thats a huge responsibility. You have veteran players looking to you to lead the team.
You could tell they have depth of understanding. Theyre 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. Theyre well-prepared. The next step is to take them off script.
Thats the purpose of the personal workouts, which the Chiefs will run. Most of the quarterbacks will also throw for NFL scouts at the combine today.
Each of the combine interviews lasted just 15 minutes.
Youve got them for a 15-minute blast, Reid said. Youre trying to cover a lot of territory. You definitely dont 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.
To reach Adam Teicher, call 816-234-4875 or send email to ateicher@kcstar.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/adamteicher.




