OPENING STATEMENT: "Thank you all for being here, we are excited to be here. As you all know, we are about six weeks into the process. We just finished up our first stages of evaluating the college draft, we are putting the final touches on our preparations for free agency and with that, we will take some questions."
Q: Will you bring a similar system when it comes to personnel decisions as you had in Green Bay?
DORSEY: "There is only one way I have ever known, and that is the process that we have done in Green Bay in the past. I think each individual who has taken that process, tweaks it to their own strengths and weaknesses. We are going to implement that process with how we acquire players. I think that model speaks for itself over the 20 years that they have implemented that plan."
Q: Is there one position that is easiest when evaluating players at the combine?
DORSEY: "Kickers. Either they make it or they don't (laughing). No, I think as you get older and you get more years of experience, each position, you understand the traits and the mechanisms it takes to be successful with each one of those positions. As the game gets faster, you have to grow with the game and those positions have to grow with the game. As the game gets faster, certain positions have to get faster as well."
Q: Is your plan more like Ron Wolf's or Ted Thompson's?
DORSEY: "Well, I think it is a combination. We all started under the one plan, and it has been the Ron Wolf plan. We have all grown from that plan, we have learned from that plan and that is kind of where we are today. I think that plan speaks for itself. Like I said earlier, each one of us has tweaked it to our own strengths and weaknesses."
Q: Do you plan to meet with Branden Albert's representatives?
DORSEY: "As you well know, he is one of a few free agents that we have that we've been in on-going communication with his representatives. It will be an ongoing communication with his representatives and as we get into free agency, we will see where that is."
Q: Do you view him as a left tackle?
DORSEY: "I think a lot of football guys view him as a left tackle."
Q: Whether it is a franchise tag or a long-term contract, will Dwayne Bowe play for the Chiefs next year?
DORSEY: "Again, it has been an ongoing communication with his representatives. We've had those discussions for the last couple weeks. We will continue to have those conversations as we get to free agency."
Q: Which quarterbacks do you plan to meet with here at the combine?
DORSEY: "I just can't name them off the top of my head right now, but we have anywhere between six and eight quarterbacks that we are going to sit and meet with as a group collectively."
Q: How would you assess the wide receiving group you just watched?
DORSEY: "They are big and fast. It was amazing, I was at the weigh-ins here and I was looking at the receivers and I was just thinking to myself how much bigger these guys really are, I mean bigger in terms of weight. There were a lot of guys between the 210 and 220 range this year and you normally don't see that. That shows you how big that position is getting."
Q: How challenging has it been getting caught up over the last month and how do you go about getting up to speed?
DORSEY: "Well, it is always a challenge when you sit in that seat. Now, you have to embrace that challenge and it is exciting to embrace that challenge. What you have to do is, you have to go one step at a time, evaluating your team, understand your team, then what you do is you begin to understand the strengths and weaknesses of free agency, then you begin to asses the strengths and weaknesses of the college draft. Then, you put a plan together and you move ahead."
Q: Do you see this as a rebuilding phase?
DORSEY: "I think anytime there is turnover with an organization and there is a new regime, there is going to be turnover, but as you all know, the process is ongoing. We are still evaluating, in process mode. As we get closer to certain timelines within this thing we will make decisions and we will move the team forward."
Q: Do you have a ballpark on how many players you are considering for that first pick?
DORSEY: "I am considering 333 players in the combine right now."
Q: Is your plan to pick based on best available?
DORSEY: "I do. I believe in the best available player philosophy."
Q: And that may not be a quarterback?
DORSEY: "Well, you know what? We haven't finished the final process of evaluations. When I made that comment it was the first phase of evaluations. It is an ongoing situation and at the end, we will see what happens, but it will be the best available player."
Q: What do you think about playing rookies right away at the QB position? Would you rather have them sit and learn for a year?
DORSEY: "I think what has happened; the teaching in college has gotten so skilled at the quarterback position. I think last year demonstrated that young kids can come in and actually end up starting in the National Football League. Maybe in years past it took two or three years for that individual to be a starter. I think last year's class was a very special class but they showed that they can start and be productive."
Q: Do you feel comfortable letting a rookie start right away?
DORSEY: "Do I feel comfortable? If the coach says that he's able to start, I do."
Q: You come from a winning culture. How do you hope to build that in Kansas City?
DORSEY: "I think wins, when you begin the collective effort within an organization – let me get my thoughts here – first off, when you begin to win and then you have individuals within that organization believing and helping support and having the basic understanding that if we can support the efforts of the players, we can build a culture. Then all of a sudden, the people realize that my efforts really do count. The players see those little things and when you do those little things to help players, I think that goes a long way."
Q: Green Bay and Kansas City seem very similar?
DORSEY: "I think Kansas City and Green Bay do have a lot of similarities. One may be bigger in population, but I think it's the Midwest. I think there are some Midwest values, some traits that each respective city has with identities to that respective state. They are both traditional franchises, one has more World Championships and Super Bowls than the other, but they are very proud fans. I've been there six weeks and I can feel the pride of the fans. It's like the Packer pride."
Q: What's your evaluation of last year's first-round draft pick, Dontari Poe?
DORSEY: "I have never seen a player of his size and his strength do some of the athletic things that he's done. If you really watch him as he has developed and progressed in the 2012 season, I think he started slow; he was just beginning to get an understanding of how he was to make the transition from college to the pros. If you really watch the later part of the film, you saw a player that had some unique traits that are going to show. He's got a lot of room to be a really good player for years to come in the National Football League. He's a big man."
Q: Everybody here wants to know who the first pick is going to be. How long before you guys actually go on the clock for draft night do you think it's important that you know who you're going to take?
DORSEY: "As you well know, we have many months to come. It's an ongoing process, as you well know. Many things can happen from now until the draft. I think once we've reached that day when it's time to select a player, I think the organization as a whole will be ready collectively to know who we're going to take with the first pick."
Q: Tyson Jackson is due a lot of money this season. What's the update on his contract?
DORSEY: "What's the update? Right now, again, we're in communication with his representatives and we're just talking through some things."
Q: There is a sense that there won't be as much interest in trading up because there aren't a handful of must-have guys in the top two or three picks. Do you get that feeling as well this year?
DORSEY: "Well it's a very unique situation sitting here in the first spot, but I can say this, if anybody wants to come up they're more than welcome. But then again, I'm going to select the first-available player, or I'm going to trade. It all depends on the options that are presented to me. That's why I'm sitting here, because I want to explore every opportunity possible and what's best for the Kansas City Chiefs."
Q: Do you think you'll get a lot of calls this year compared to past years with the number one pick?
DORSEY: "Time will tell."
Q: You praised Russell Wilson's interview skill last year. Is there a quarterback that has interviewed in a similar fashion?
DORSEY: "We really haven't had a chance to interview the quarterbacks as a group yet. In about three or four days I could give you an answer to that question, but right now I can't really answer that question. I haven't really met any of them yet. This is the first time for me to really meet these guys."
Q: Have you guys talked with Matt Cassel's people yet?
DORSEY: "Yeah, we've sat and talked. Again, it's an ongoing conversation."
Q: You made that comment about Russell Wilson. How do you really get that sense about any guy when you meet him for the first time and you don't get to spend too much time with him here?
DORSEY: "Well I think when somebody walks into a room – a young man, he knows it's an interview process – sometimes it can be a little bit staged. But I think as you begin to sense who they are as a person, you begin to feel the depth and sincerity of their heart, the clarity of their mind. And then when you begin to feel their presence, you can kind of see certain leadership qualities, intellectual qualities and certain energy about them that you know it's going to be that guy."
Q: What are your thoughts about this quarterback class and the fact that so many guys are throwing at the combine to try to prove themselves?
DORSEY: "Well, that's a good thing. A lot teams have spent a lot of money for players to fly here to the combine to participate and hopefully everybody would participate. The more the better because it gives all of us a chance to evaluate that position and watch them compete with their peers. And there is nothing better than competition in sport."
