Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 5/10

Kansas City Chiefs Draft Rice CB Phillip Gaines from The Mothership

The Kansas City Chiefs selected Rice CB Phillip Gaines with their third-round pick, 87th overall, in the 2014 NFL Draft.

In five years at Rice, Gaines played in 52-career games and started in 40, totaling 134 tackles, 41 assists, two sacks, four INTs, 38 PBUs, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries.

Dorsey: 'Gaines Has Wonderful Athletic Traits' from The Mothership

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."

Gaines Adds Depth To Chiefs Secondary from The Mothership

The Kansas City Chiefs enter the final day of the 2014 NFL Draft with currently four picks remaining, one each in the fourth and fifth rounds and two more in the sixth. While it's unknown who the team will draft with each of those picks, the motive behind each selection stems from one collective goal in mind, creating competitive depth on the roster.

"John (Dorsey) and his staff are going to continue to increase the competition level within the room," coach Reid said. "I think that's important to grow as a football team and that's the way John has presented it this offseason and the people he has brought it will add some competition in certain spots."

Dee Ford's Introductory Press Conference from The Mothership

Q: You obviously take a lot of pride in your pass rush ability; tell us about some of your pass-rush moves. What do you like to go to? What do you have to do successfully to get to the quarterback?

FORD: "Well, this is the home of Derrick Thomas; I know you all remember that speed. That get-off is so vital and so deadly, just the speed rush itself, it opens up everything. I have a lot of counters, and there are definitely a lot of things I'm going to learn in the league, from all of the vets that are here. I love speed rush, the speed and power and I love to spin. Pass rush is an art and it's all about what you put into it. You can do whatever you want with it. It's pretty much an art form."

Q&A With Chiefs Rookie CB Phillip Gaines from The Mothership

Q: You had two marijuana offenses you said?

GAINES: "Yes, sir."

Q: What kind of steps have you taken to ease teams' concerns about that?

GAINES: "Honestly, I've just told them the truth. I'll never shy away from it, because I did it. There is nothing to hide from. I did it. I'll own up to it every day for the rest of my life, and with that said, sometimes you make those mistakes and you man up and you move on with it. The Chiefs have believed in me and understood that I did that. Like I said, they have nothing to worry about. I'm moving forward with my life, and that's in the past. I'm just ready to move forward and put that in the past."

Curley Culp To Announce Chiefs 3rd-Round Pick from The Mothership

Culp, who was part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2013 Class that was inducted on August 3rd, described what life has been like, since his big day.

"It's been a whirlwind," Culp said. "It was great excitement to get to Canton and to be a part of all of that. I'm just enjoying the journey. It continues to be a wonderful opportunity to do some things and I wouldn't have this experience, without a lot of help from several individuals, including family members, coaches, friends and other players."

KCChiefs.com Video: John Dorsey Makes The Call

KCChiefs.com Video: John Dorsey 1 On 1

KCChiefs.com Video: Dee Ford Press Conference

KCChiefs.com Video: 1 On 1: Dee Ford

KCChiefs.com Video: John Dorsey Day 2 Press Conference

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Photos: Dee Ford Arrives In Kansas City

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Third-Round Draft Pick, Phillip Gaines

Chiefs Grab Philip Gaines With Third-Round Pick from The Associated Press via FS Kansas City

Like Ford, who dealt with knee and back problems at Auburn, Gaines will arrive in Kansas City with a history of injury trouble. He missed the end of the 2009 season with a broken wrist and the rest of the 2011 season when he broke his foot in an early season game against Southern Miss.

Gaines also had some off-the-field trouble. He landed on probation after an arrest in April 2011 for misdemeanor possession of marijuana, and was suspended for last season's opener after a second failed marijuana test.

Chiefs Use Third-Round Pick On CB Phillip Gaines from Chiefs Spin

While Gaines' specific role on defense has yet to be determined, Dorsey said Gaines would contribute on special teams and indicated free safety could be a possibility.

"Ideally you'd have him play corner and compete at corner and add depth to the corner," the general manager said. "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."

New Chiefs OLB Dee Ford Wants 'To Be A Hall-Of-Famer' from FS Kansas City

So, yeah, it's safe to say Big Dee won his first Chiefs news conference late Friday afternoon, just as he won just about every meeting with Reid and Dorsey in the months and weeks leading up to the draft.

The No. 23 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft praised Chiefs fans, again. He praised Kansas City, noting that it felt like home (Odenville, Ala., roughly a half-hour out of Birmingham, population: 3,629), what with its world's-biggest-small-town vibe. He dropped the name of ex-Chiefs great Derrick Thomas in hallowed tones, as one of his heroes. Twice.

Win. Win. Win.

Dee Ford Escapes Storm Through Music from Chiefs Spin

While he plays a violent game, it's another passion Ford has pursued since the age of 12 that may surprise given its low-key nature.

In addition to a love of football, Ford is a pianist, and the harmonies offer an outlet from the fast-paced action of the grid iron field.

"Music is kind of like my vent just to get away," Ford said during his introductory press conference Friday. "You know, my refuge, just to settle in and get away from everything. It can be a little charm, too, at times."

Why Won't The Chiefs Give Alex Smith More Toys To Play With? from FS Kansas City

And Ford and Gaines, for all their pluses, seem like two guys who would've really, really, really helped this team win some big games ... four months ago.

Maybe that's the point. Maybe the theme from the first act of this little production is that Dorsey and coach Andy Reid either:

A) Don't want what happened at Lucas Oil Stadium in January -- and let's not go there again, for all our sakes -- to ever happen again under their watch, or;

B) They think the offense is largely fine as-is.

Chiefs Aiming To Fix Leaking Pass Defense from ESPN

While the selection of Ford was meant to complement incumbent pass-rushers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, the addition of Gaines serves notice to starter Brandon Flowers and third cornerback Marcus Cooper. Each had his share of struggles last season and while the Chiefs don't appear prepared to move Gaines immediately into one of those spots, they believe he is ready to compete for playing time.

Chiefs Pick Phillip Gaines In 3rd from ESPN

My take: The Chiefs needed some insurance at cornerback. Starter Brandon Flowers struggled at times last season and the play of Marcus Cooper as the third cornerback fell off greatly the second half of last season, so Gaines was a need pick.

Dee Ford Says All The Right Things from ESPN

"My No. 1 goal is to be a sponge and be a great teammate,'' Ford said. "I'm not concerned with the hype. I'm concerned with things that I can control, which is coming into this organization and being a great teammate. I really hope I don't sound generic or sound like I'm just trying to say the right things. I really mean that. I'm going to humble myself, learn from these vets and man, we're going to do some things.

"I can't measure what I'm going to do from what [Hali] did. He's a dynamic pass-rusher, he's so beyond me. I need to learn. That's my No. 1 goal, be a teammate and learn."

First Impression Sealed The Deal For KC from Warpaint Illustrated

At the NFL Combines last February, the Kansas City Chiefs entourage sat in a room with a bunch of prospective draft picks. After the short fifteen-minute session, General Manager, John Dorsey, came away from the interview with a tremendous feeling about Auburn Defensive Tackle, Dee Ford.

That feeling, as Dorsey described in addressing the media late Thursday night, was more than enough that he and his head coach, Andy Reid, both felt Ford earned his slot atop their draft board when the Chiefs were on the clock in the first round.

Why Auburn's Dee Ford Celebrated NFL Draft Selection By Chiefs With Family, Gospel from AL.com

"This is bigger than I am," Ford said at 9:08 p.m. "I am what I am because of y'all, so that's why I invite you. I wanted to do this personal. I didn't want to go to New York. I don't know what's in New York, I wanted to be here. I wanted to be with my family."

Son handed the microphone to his proud mama, who briefly shared a story about her early days of marriage and raising her children alongside husband James.

"We didn't have nothing," she said. "We didn't have a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of, but God, he took care of us."

Chiefs #3: CB Phillip Gaines from Warpaint Illustrated

This selection didn't address the Chiefs need at wide receiver or offensive line but it's clear Dorsey and Head Coach, Andy Reid, must fix their defense to be competitive in 2014.

That plan started back in March with the free agent additions of Defensive Lineman Vance Walker, Linebacker Joe Mays and veteran Cornerback, Chris Owens. By acquiring a pair of playmakers on defense via the draft, the Chiefs appear focused on retooling their defense one player at a time.

Rice's Gaines Highlights Local Selections On 2nd Day Of NFL Draft from The Houston Chronicle

Gaines, a four-year starter at cornerback, was one of the top pass defenders in Conference USA with 27 pass breakups his final two seasons. He had a breakout season as a junior when he finished second nationally with 18 pass breakups.

But it was at the NFL combine in February when the 6-foot Gaines started to get noticed as a possible second-day selection. His stock soared after being clocked at 4.38 seconds in the 40, the second-fastest time among cornerbacks.

"Now that I'm picked up, I'm fully devoted to what they're about," Gaines said. "Trust me, (the Chiefs) have no idea how hard I'm going to work for them. They'll see once I get there that I'll do anything for them."

Kansas City, Here Comes Dee Ford from WVTM

"Can you play a little outside 'backer?" Reid said  "We going to do it," said Ford.

"How are the hands?"

"They're good."

"We got the only piano-playing classic pianst outside linebacker in the National Football League," Reid said.

"Yes sir, the best one."

Actor Ty Burrell Makes Mom Happy from The NY Post

"I got a text from Eric Stonestreet, who is a big [Kansas City] Chiefs fan. He didn't say [if he was jealous], he just said, ‘I hope it goes terribly,' " Burrell joked to The Post's Kirsten Fleming.

Uber Ride-Sharing Service Launches In Kansas City from KSHB

One day after the Kansas City council rushed through an ordinance targeting ride-sharing service Lyft's funding model, competitor Uber announced its service was now live in KC.

The company announced its service via email and social media, partnering with Kansas City Chiefs star Jamaal Charles.

Roseman Says Reid Took The Eagles' Top Rated Pass Rusher With The 23rd Pick from CBS Philly

While the Eagles were awaiting their selection at 26 after trading back four slots in the first round, the Chiefs pick may have seemed somewhat harmless from a fan perspective, but inside the Eagles war room there was some angst.

Same Ol' Browns? Not This Time Around from MMQB

Kansas City Chiefs: Cornerback Phillip Gaines brings needed competition and speed (4.38 in the 40-yard dash) to the secondary. Look for the Chiefs to target offensive speed on the final day. Still need a lot of help at receiver.

" Aunt" Norma Champion Named To Broadcasters Hall Of Fame from KY3

Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson will also be inducted for his work as a broadcaster. Dawson became Sports Director of KMBC-TV in Kansas City in 1966 while still playing with the Chiefs. He went on to become analyst for NBC Sports AFC coverage and hosted Inside the NFL on HBO for 24 years. He continues today in the Chiefs Radio Network Broadcast booth as a color analyst.

Princeton's Reid Seen Joining Exclusive Alumni Club At NFL Draft from BusinessWeek

Fellow Tigers defensive lineman Mike Catapano was a seventh-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013, appeared in 15 games as a rookie and collected one quarterback sack. The last time Princeton had picks in back-to-back years was 1982 and 1983, when the draft had 12 rounds. It was shortened to eight rounds in 1993 and then to seven rounds -- its current length -- the following year.

The Money Sign: How Much Each NFL First-Round Pick Will Get Paid from AL.com

For Auburn defensive end Dee Ford, his rookie contract should be worth $8,158,700 as the Kansas City Chiefs' choice with the No. 23 pick.