On day two of the 2014 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs weren't officially on the clock, until round three, when they later used their 24th pick (87th overall) to select Rice CB Phillip Gaines. After the pick and following the completion of the draft's third round, Chiefs general manager John Dorsey returned to the media room to address reporters, talking about the newest Chiefs CB.
Q: Why Phillip Gaines?
DORSEY: "Again, as we were assessing the board, he was the highest-rated player on the draft board, as it was built. He has all the physical dimensions we ask for in a corner. He's long, he's fast and he has long arms. He has 38 PBUs (passes broken up), over his career which is a school record. He plays and tracks the deep ball well. I'd say there is still a lot of upside with him. (He has) ringing endorsements from the scouts, our coaches and (Rice's) coaching staff. I think you had to go in that direction."
Q: Any kick return possibilities with him?
DORSEY: "There is a possibility. He's a really good athlete. For sure special teams. I could see him, you know as Dave (Toub) says 'four core.' If you really watch him at times, I could project him to be the gunner, right away."
Q: As far as returns?
DORSEY: "I think you practice that and you see that he's really never done that on a year‐in, year‐out basis, but he has some athletic skills. You'll surely give him a try at it."
Q: Can you see him doing kickoffs or punt returns?
DORSEY: "He's really never done it. In the process, I'm sure Dave (Toub) is going to try to see if he can make him either a kick or a punt returner. He's got really wonderful athletic traits."
Q: Is he ready to compete for playing time?
DORSEY: "You know what, he's very advanced. He's very competitive. He's very prideful. What I like about the kid, early on he was young, but he grew up. He had some faults; he made some mistakes, but he grew up about it. He's a two‐time captain at that school and to me, that says a lot, because that means he's earned the respect back from the coaching staff, he's earned the respect back from his teammates and he's grown up as a man."
Q: Is there free safety potential?
DORSEY: "There is a possibility. He really is about 193 (pounds). Ideally, you'd have him play corner and compete at corner and add depth to the corner. As we all know, you can't have enough good corners in this league and he sure adds another quality depth for us at that position."
Q: Has he had any other marijuana related incidents?
DORSEY: "Nope. Any time you are a two‐time captain to me that says volumes. When you can talk one-on‐one and you've owned up to your past as a young man, and then you've earned the respect back from everyone in that institution, I'm okay with that."
Q: This is a guy you have talked to?
DORSEY: "Our scouts have. He was at the East‐West Game."
Q: Did anything strike them about his answers to the questions?
DORSEY: "No, they thought he was very cordial, very polite and very straight forward."
Q: He hasn't been arrested, correct?
DORSEY: "I don't know if I'm at liberty to talk about all of his personal stuff."
Q: How significant are marijuana situations to teams?
DORSEY: "I think it's a case-by-case basis. You sit down and you analyze everybody's growth through life and you see how they mature, how they are as young men. At the end of the day, you have to look as they grow through life and you kind of have to look at them the last two years and see how they're going to project forward. I personally like to sit down with them and see them one‐on‐one just to make sure that I'm comfortable with them as a person."
Q: As society changes, has your view changed?
DORSEY: "I'm a little bit old-school. I've got my views."
Q: Did you watch film on him in 2012? How much growth did he make from 2012 to 2013?
DORSEY: "I have. I think it was steady. You could see a steady rise, through his performance. I just like the things he does. He uses his legs really well. He can turn and run with the receivers on the vertical. He can stop, when he's got to stop and mirror his receivers in his routes. To me, he's kind of what the defensive coaches look for in that position."
Q: Where is his press strength and technique at right now?
DORSEY: "In college, they only had the 20‐hour rule; therefore, you are not going to be as technically-sound from a technical aspect as you would in professional football. I still see a higher ceiling than most."
Q: How did his medical report come back?
DORSEY: "He's been a two‐year starter. His junior and senior year, he started both. He has played the last two years and he's been pretty good."
Q: Is having only four interceptions in his career worrisome at all?
DORSEY: "Not necessarily, I like the pass breakups. Actually, when you have to watch him catch his balls, he catches the balls in the warm‐ups. That's a practiced art, I think. Sometimes, you have to check from the visual perspective. Does he have all the depth perception and visual skills, with regards to feeling and looking at the balls, but I think he'll be fine."
Q: You picked one pass rusher and one pass defender, is that by design?
DORSEY: "Well, actually, it's not. It just kind of falls that way. I find it interesting, after we took Phillip all of the sudden; those were the next two guys that went."
Q: How is he at sticking with guys on vertical and underneath routes?
DORSEY: "Not bad."
Q: Did he do more zone coverage in college?
DORSEY: "It's a combination."
Q: Is there reasoning behind drafting two guys who were in college for five years?
DORSEY: "It just happened that way. There's no particular reason. I can say that one of the guys I was looking at, he was a junior. It just happened to fall that way."
Q: What is Gaines' competitiveness on‐field?
DORSEY: "Pretty good player, pretty competitive. All corners have the degree of confidence. He has that corner degree of confidence. He'll walk in here and compete with the rest of them."
Q: Who is the fastest guy in your secondary?
DORSEY: "It was a future signing. (DeMarcus) Van Dyke. He (runs about) 4.27 or 4.24."
Q: Is Brandon Flowers a good fit for what you ask your cornerbacks to do?
DORSEY: "Brandon Flowers is a good football player. He is a good fit for what we do."
Q: Has there been any talk of moving Flowers to safety at some point?
DORSEY: "No."
Q: Are you still confident with the depth of the wide receivers at this point?
DORSEY: "Actually I am. I still think there are a few there to be had. I was sitting there thinking, as I was watching some of the receivers go, this John Brown from Pittsburg State in Kansas, is that the highest player drafted from Pittsburg State? It has got to be; I can't remember of a guy. To answer your question, there are more players to be had at this position."
