Peter King On Eric Berry

Peter King devotes some time to Eric Berry in his Monday Morning Quarterback column this morning. The juiciest part is where he reveals a conversation between Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff and Chiefs GM Scott Pioli. I want the Chiefs to draft Eric Berry. I really do, but if this conversation is true, it very well may not happen. Pioli seems to be pretty steady in his thinking and if he really doesn’t want to take a safety at #5, I don’t think he will.

"Atlanta GM Thomas Dimitroff calls the safety-at-the-top-of-the-draft debate a conundrum. “It’s been on my mind a lot lately,” he said, “and I realize I’m speaking out of both sides of my mouth here, but Berry’s a really good player. It’s been on my mind quite a bit recently. You want the good hitter with hip movement, able to turn and run, but then reality sets in. I was talking to [Kansas City GM] Scott Pioli about Berry, and I said, ‘Scott, this guy’s your pick.’ And he said, ‘You know how I feel about safeties that early.’ And I understand.”I’m not saying Berry won’t be a great player. Maybe he’ll be Ed Reed. Maybe he’ll know when to dish out the big hit and when to steer a player instead of seek and destroy. But the odds of him being great for a long time — as opposed to the physical longevity of a tackle or defensive lineman or quarterback not subject to as many high-speed collisions — are pretty long, based on history."

What do you think, Addicts? Will Pioli make an exception once he has more time to examine Berry or are the Chiefs going to go in a different direction.