Andy Reid roundup: Five takeaways from the Chiefs head coach

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid spent about 14 minutes with the media on Monday. Here were five items that stood out:

1) Reid appreciates the Mahomes-Deshaun Watson matchup for the league as a whole.

The Chiefs will welcome in Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson on Sunday. Watson is coming off a game against the Buffalo Bills in which he showcased his ability to extend plays, a trait he shares with Mahomes.

“How great is that for the National Football League, first of all?” asked Reid. “To have these good young quarterbacks, and two, to answer the defensive part, you got to play. You got to be fundamentally sound, you got to come in with a certain mindset and play aggressive football, and that’s how it rolls.”

Ahead of the 2017 NFL Draft, Reid and the Chiefs brought Watson in for a visit.

“A ton of respect for him — he’s a great player. He was great in college, he’s great now. He’s going to do nothing but get better as it goes on, which is phenomenal for the NFL. I look forward to the challenge of having an opportunity to play against him.”

The Chiefs took Mahomes instead with the 10th overall pick, and Watson went two picks later to the Texans.

2) Reid had a conversation with Bill O’Brien about Tyrann Mathieu before he came to Kansas City.

Safety Tyrann Mathieu spent a year in Houston before signing with Kansas City as a free agent this past offseason. Mathieu has since become the best player on the defensive unit and a leader for the Chiefs.

“We knew that’s what we were getting,” said Reid. “I talked to Bill (O’Brien) actually, and Bill would have loved to have had him there. It’s just part of the National Football League and the way it works, but he told me he was a phenomenal kid on the field and off, great leader, so I kind of had a heads up on what we were getting here.

“I just want him to be himself, and you start having to put things on like that, make it up—that normally doesn’t work. Guys read through it, but I think it just comes natural with him.”

3) Reid made a point to say he believes postseason experience is critical for every player — not just quarterbacks.

Asked about whether experience matters more for a quarterback, Reid argued it matters for every player in the game.

“I think it’s important for all of them,” said Reid. “I think it’s important for the quarterback, but for all the guys. Everything gets a little faster every level you go up in the playoffs, the urgency — it’s obviously single elimination, so the urgency level’s up. You got to be in a certain mindset when you get into the playoffs, and you have to understand that. Until you experience it—I mean, you could stand there as a coach and you can explain it and go through all that, but experience helps.”

4) Reid had some nice words former former Chiefs defensive back Ron Parker, who announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday.

Ron Parker announced his retirement on Twitter early on Monday.

“We got him in that mix when we first got here (in 2013) of players that we were able to sneak off of the wire there,” said Reid of Parker, who played six seasons (2013-18) with the Chiefs. “He came in as a small college guy and I just thought did a great job. I told him he’d be a great coach. He knew what was going on, he had a great way about him. Good leader, all those things, and he could run like a son of a gun. He was really a dual-position guy, so he could play corner or you could put him at safety. He was smart enough where you could move him in the nickel spots. World of respect for him— [he] loved to play the game.”

5) Reid identified the team’s six playoff captains.

More on that here.