Chris Ballard gives insight into Chiefs drafting Marcus Peters
By Matt Conner
Chris Ballard recently spoke to MMQB about the pre-draft process the Chiefs did when researching Marcus Peters.
The Kansas City Chiefs struck gold at No. 18 in the 2015 NFL Draft when they selected cornerback Marcus Peters. However, to get to the point where they felt safe enough to take him so early, former Chiefs executive Chris Ballard says everyone involved had to feel good enough about his growth since being dismissed from the Washington Huskies football team.
In a recent interview with Monday Morning Quarterback’s podcast, Ballard, now the general manager for the Indianapolis Colts, reflected on the pre-draft process leading up to Peters’ selection.
"“I said, ‘I’m going; I’m going to Oakland,’” Ballard said. “And I went and spent a day and a half with him, his parents, met his family, and we got very comfortable with the situation and I came back and said, ‘John (Dorsey), we’ll be fine. Marcus is a good guy.’”"
It was clear the Chiefs did their homework on all fronts after selecting Peters. Andy Reid spoke glowingly of Peters’ play and stressed that he was not a problem in the locker room. General manager John Dorsey himself said the team did “extensive research” on Peters and felt just fine about taking him despite his previous tension and sideline arguments with his college coach Chris Petersen.
So far, so good for the Chiefs as Peters has become a household name for NFL fans. With two Pro Bowl mentions in two seasons and 14 interceptions in that time, he’s unquestionably one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks at the age of 24.