The Chiefs' fourth, fifth and sixth-round picks spoke to the media today:
Fourth-round WR Jehu Chesson
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Q:Take us through that catch yesterday.
CHESSON:"Which one? The deep ball? We're just out here competing and having fun. Just like what I learned at Michigan, just trying to bring it here, trying to evolve every single day, trying to improve and get better, man. You have a lot of great guys out here competing to get a spot on the team, and I'm one of those guys. So, you just have to go out there and make plays when you can."
Q:What did coach Greg Lewis say to you after that?
CHESSON:"Good job 80. Get back in the huddle."
Q:How much of the deep ball is part of what you can do? You feel like you track it okay?
CHESSON:"Yeah, I mean I have to, right? That's what the team needs, and I'm all about doing what the team needs. So, you throw that ball out there, it's me or nobody, and that's your mentality. You have to go up there and get it. So, we're just going to keep working the deep ball. We're going to keep working our goes (go routes). We're going to keep working all of our routes. I have so much to learn and so much to improve on, but I'm making progress."
Q:How much when you were working with other teams did they ask about production in 2015 versus 2016?
CHESSON:"I got that question a lot, man. I really never had a good answer, but I think the biggest thing though is I thank God for the opportunity that I have. Every time I get on the field, I have an opportunity to make plays, have an opportunity to represent my team, represent my family name in the greatest fashion. So, I'm going to put the effort and attitude that it's going to take."
Q:How did you feel during the season last year?
CHESSON:"It felt great."
Q:There was no issues from the bowl game thing?
CHESSON:"Oh, you are talking about in January? No. No issues."
Q:So in general, was it just getting used to Will (Michigan QB Wilton Speight) as a quarterback? Or did anything change with the offense?
CHESSON:"The past is behind me, man. What happened that last year happened that last year. There's nothing that I can do about it. The only thing that I can do is learn from what happened that year, how I can be more productive here with the Chiefs because that's my team now. Those Michigan days are behind me. I'm a Michigan man. I'm going to die a Michigan man. I want to talk about the Chiefs."
Q:What did you learn from that year?
CHESSON:"I learned so many things. Part of the things that I learned, when things aren't really swinging your way, the only thing that you can control is your effort, your attitude, regardless of what people say or what they think. You just control your tenacity, how relentless you are and how you attack every single day."
Q:How comparable were your practices at Michigan to here intensity-wise?
CHESSON:"It's only day two, but I think Coach [Andy] Reid here runs a great program. You can't really compare two coaches. You can't compare two people without diminishing the other. So far, I enjoy Coach Reid. I enjoy the lessons that he has been teaching us so far – even though it has only been one day. In terms of intensity, practices have been hard, but that's what it is and that's what it takes if you want to be a winning program."
Q:Receivers have the routes that are their personal favorites. What do you like?
CHESSON:"I can't tell you that because the DBs are going to know. I can't tell you that."
Q:How confident are you when the ball is in the air that you're going to get it?
CHESSON:"You've got to be, 100 percent, man. That's the nature of the play – you make the play or you don't. You catch the ball and everyone is like, 'ahhhhh' or you drop the ball, 'booooo.' So, you have to have that confidence that when the ball is in the air that it's yours. That's the same confidence that they have too, so that's how you compete and that's what makes it great."
Q:What do you think you bring to the room that makes you unique compared to others?
CHESSON:"I don't know what I bring that other people don't, but I try to be energetic, my attitude. I pride myself on being an effort guy because that's what it takes. Everybody here is so talented. Everybody here is good. I'm not the most talented out there, but I'm going to work."
Q:You have expressed a desire to play special teams – where does that come from?
CHESSON:"To me, I don't think it's rocket science. It's all three phases of the game – offense, defense and special teams. That's what it takes to win the game, and if you really want to win the game, you're going to bust your butt on special teams – excuse my French. I think it's simple. My view is different than others."
Q:What are your impressions of Patrick Mahomes so far?
CHESSON:"He's good, man. I enjoy playing with him. He can sling the ball pretty damn good. So, I'm just excited to keep getting reps with him, and keep getting close with him and just see what the future brings."
Q:Have you heard from a lot of people from St. Louis and from around Missouri?
CHESSON:"Yeah, obviously close to home, but a lot of people have texted me telling me, 'Congrats, coming back close to home.' At the same time, it's congrats over – you have to put in the work now."
Q:Did you get much interest from Missouri or local schools coming out of high school?
CHESSON:"Yeah, a little bit. A little bit. But I'm biased. I think Michigan is the best university in the world. So, that's why I went there. Nothing on Mizzou or nothing on any other schools, but Michigan was the best fit for me."
Q:Why do you love football?
CHESSON:"Gosh man, that's such a loaded question. There are various reasons to love football. Besides just playing the game, there are so many lessons this game teaches you that you can't get anywhere else. There are so many things that this game – so many metaphors – that this game has that translate to real life. The guys that last, the guys that make it, those are tough guys, hard-nosed guys. I want to be around those type of guys. I want to compete with the best and see how I measure up with the best. Then, at the end of the day – just like the real world – you're evaluated day-in and day-out of how good you are at your job, and I'm just getting a taste of that here."
Q:Is there anything in particular that you're trying to get down here?
CHESSON:"Yeah, for sure. The playbook, period."
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Fifth-round LB Ukeme Eligwe
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Q:You played two years of college. How did that have an impact on you? Did that help keep your body fresh? Did it kill you to not play football for those years?
ELIGWE:"I think it hurt more mentally than physically, even though I did suffer some injuries in my career. Not being on the field hurts more than it does versus the physical aspect, honestly."
Q:Did it keep you hungry to get back on the field?
ELIGWE:"Yeah, 100 percent. Like at Florida State, redshirt my freshman year, I got injured. I was probably ranked one of the top linebackers coming out. I was excited, I thought I was going to go to Florida State and start. I had two NFL guys in front of me so that didn't happen. The injury happened. Georgia Southern, I had to sit out due to transferring. After that, it humbled me. It humbled me and makes you hungrier for sure."
Q:How are you going to keep these guys off your body? How are you going to shed these big linemen in the NFL?
ELIGWE:"Just use your hands and technique. Don't get me wrong, they're huge and all, but I've got some pretty long arms also."
Q:Are you a 'run-through' guy or a 'run-around' guy?
ELIGWE:"You can't just run around guys at this level. You can't run around guys on any level, honestly. I'll use technique and my hands and I'll make the play."
Q:Do you have any techniques for ducking under blocks? Here, they let LB Derrick Johnson do that because he's able to make those plays. Did you do any of that in college?
ELIGWE:"Some guys are slithery. I believe I can do it sometimes, but that's not something where I think, 'Oh I'm just going to go underneath him.' If you have that in your repertoire, that's good as a linebacker. But not all linebackers have that bend or that wiggle where they can just wiggle underneath a 6'8" lineman."
Q:From a verbiage standpoint, do you get any sense of how complicated it is? Do you think you'll get it pretty easily?
ELIGWE:"It's the same defense pretty much that I ran at Florida State my redshirt freshman year. It's just different verbiage, of course, but the same defense. So I understand it."
Q:Do you have a skillset to play weak side inside and strong side inside? They require different skills, but have they practiced you at both?
ELIGWE:"I've only been on the inside for right now. If the coaches need me to go outside, I believe I could do that also."
Q:How confident are you that you'll be able to adapt having come from a smaller school?
ELIGWE:"I know a lot of guys that get that 'small school' label. Don't get me wrong, I finished off at Georgia Southern. Coming out of high school, I could have gone anywhere. I chose Florida State. Asking me that question, my mentality, I don't have a true 'small school' guy mentality. Don't get me wrong, those guys are humble and very hungry. They have to get after it more than some of the 'big school' guys because the 'big school' guys think they have it all and less to prove. I understand what you're saying, but I feel like deep down, I have a good mix of both because I saw both sides of the table."
Q:When did you finally make peace with your time at Florida State?
ELIGWE:"I would say the year we won the National Championship. Even then, I didn't get a chance to start, and that was on me. Playing a part of special teams, big role, even playing when we would blow teams out. Being part of the team and knowing that I contributed, that's when you know you at least had a hand on that success."
Q:What did you do with your ring?
ELIGWE:"It's still at home. I'll frame it when I get a crib."
Q:So you're letting your parents hold onto it?
ELIGWE:"It's in my room back home. They've got my old rings but they don't have the National Championship rings."
Q:What have your old teammates from Florida State that are in the NFL told you about playing in the league?
ELIGWE:"They've told me what I'm seeing now. You've got to be a professional. You've got to love the game, number one. You've got to dedicate yourself to the game because if you don't, then you'll be out of the league real, real fast. Of course, work hard, things of that nature and like I said be a professional. At the end of the day, if you love it, you're going to bring everything to the table and give it your all."
Sixth-round DB Leon McQuay III
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Q:The Chiefs have talked a little about you playing corner. What was that like yesterday?
MCQUAY:"A little bit of a change. The technique is a little different playing outside. They taught me the basics and I've just been running with it."
Q:Because it's such a technical position, how long do you think it's going to take to get the footwork and technique down?
MCQUAY:"I don't feel like it'll take that long. I feel like I got a pretty good grip on it right now. I'm sure there's more to come, but as for what they've taught me right now, I feel like it shouldn't take that long."
Q:Do you have a short memory or a long one? Do you remember bad plays?
MCQUAY:"In the game? It's next play. But afterwards I might think about it."
Q:How competitive are you?
MCQUAY:"Oh man, I love to compete. That's why I play the game of football."
Q:Are you that competitive about other things too? What other things do you compete at?
MCQUAY:"Pretty much every sport. Throughout high school I played football, soccer, I did basketball, track. Track is like really competing against yourself. Everything really."
Q:It's still early, but as far as learning to play on the outside, what's the feedback from the coaches been like so far?
MCQUAY:"Pretty much they've been telling me just corrections on film. Just slow down a little bit and try to get my hands on them more. I feel like I do a pretty good job of getting hands on them but there's a couple times where I'm a little too fast out and I'm not able to touch them."
Q:Is that something you noticed yourself on film or is that something the coaches pointed out to you?
MCQUAY:"Both."
Q:How much of your grandpa's career have you studied or are familiar with?
MCQUAY:"I haven't seen much of it. I've seen like the worst part, the fumble, because that's on YouTube and everywhere. Not much, just heard a lot of stories about him. At home, he has a lot of his tapes but it's actual film so you can't really get to see until you get older and buy some reel or whatever."
Q:Are you proud of him that he had his six or seven year professional football career?
MCQUAY:"Of course. Yeah, of course. The whole city was proud of him. I'm just trying to do the same thing, make my city proud."
Q:He was a groundbreaker too. When did you become aware of that?
MCQUAY:"Yeah. As a kid."
Q:You played a little slot in college. Did you have to get right up on a guy and press him in the slot? Or is this new to you?
MCQUAY:"It's not new to me, but we didn't do a bunch of it. We played some press in college but most of the time it was zone coverages when I was in the slot. Like I said, we had some man but not much. When it was man, I would pretty much be off the ball because of the coverage."
Q:For you, it's going to be about trying to pick up what the receiver is going to do by their alignment. What gives you hope that you're going to pick that up quick?
MCQUAY:"Just studying and my athletic ability. I feel like I can move with some of the best."
Q:Is this a fun time? Is this a scary time? What's this like to come in and have to show yourself and prove what you can do in front of a bunch of guys?
MCQUAY:"It's been fun for me because I feel like this is a game we've been playing all our lives and it's just on another level. There's no need to get out here and be all tense. If you can play, you can play, and that's going to show."
