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It's no secret that at least a couple other teams besides the Kansas City Chiefs had interest in Dee Ford during the 2014 NFL Draft. The Falcons were the most notable considering they were trying to trade back into the first round to grab the pass rusher:
The #Falcons tried to move up for Dee Ford, I imagine at No. 22 when the Eagles traded with the Browns for #JFF. Chiefs grabbed him at 23
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 9, 2014
The latest Monday Morning Quarterback column from Peter King details just how much the Falcons were really interested with some interesting tidbits about both their interest and the voice of reason in the room:
Now came the next piece of drama in the Atlanta draft room. New assistant GM Scott Pioli was a voice of calm in the room; he’d been urging Dimitroff to not be too eager to move back into the first round. Atlanta sat at 37, and wanted a pass-rusher—either a defensive end or an outside linebacker. The Falcons really wanted Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier, who went to Pittsburgh at number 15. That was too high for Atlanta. Then the object of their affection was defensive end Dee Ford, and he would have cost a third-round pick for Atlanta to move into the mid-20s. But Kansas City grabbed Ford at 23, and there went the two rushers Dimitroff liked. Instead of overpaying for a player he didn’t love, Dimitroff sat and took high-risk/big-reward defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman of Minnesota.
The Eagles were also rumored to want Ford at No. 26 overall, but the Chiefs beat them to the punch. Then again, the Eagles GM later contradicted that report saying Marcus Smith was their man all along.
When the Eagles traded back from 22 to 26 last night they targeted Dee Ford a pass rusher from Auburn, but Andy Reid & KC took Ford at 23
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) May 9, 2014
Howie said if #Eagles stayed at 22, Marcus Smith was the pick. Had him rated over Dee Ford, Darqueze Dennard, Verrett, who went 23, 24, 25.
— Martin Frank (@Mfranknfl) May 9, 2014
Ford remains one of two unsigned draft choices for the Chiefs, along with fifth round selection Aaron Murray.