It’s been a busy past few days in NFL front offices, and some of the draft selections by the league’s front offices have left pundits befuddled. The league’s reporters made sure to follow through with those curious selections, and we have some of the more notable responses below…
Saints coach Sean Payton, who opined yesterday that La’el Collins would be drafted in the second or third round, on why his team passed on the embattled lineman (via ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett):
“I don’t know that we would consider that right now until we had more clarity. And it seems like there’s a rush for everyone. And one of the things I said this morning was, ‘Man, we’re right down the road. Are we able to get some information the other teams don’t have yet?’ And so I haven’t had that or gotten that information yet to answer that as a yes.”
Packers general manager Ted Thompson on his team not selecting an inside linebacker (via Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com):
“It’s a simple plan, but we wanted to make sure we got football players. And we think we got a couple more tonight…We’re going to address [inside linebacker] just like we address all other positions and try to make it as strong as we can.”
Eagles coach Chip Kelly on the team’s decision to select linebacker Jordan Hicks despite having greater needs (via Les Bowen of Philly.com):
“He was our highest-rated guy by far. We had him rated in the second round. We had great exposure to Jordan; he was the individual we saw the most this offseason.”
Kelly on how the Hicks selection could impact Mychal Kendricks‘ role on the Eagles (via Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com):
“We’re excited to get him back here. I know he spent the draft with his brother, which we understand. He said he should be back here next week, but I think you’re always gonna draft players, and when you bring ‘em in here, the one thing you want is you want competition at positions. We knew going in at the end of last year that with just Mychal and DeMeco that we really had to shore up the inside linebacker spot. “
Jerry Jones on the Cowboys selecting Randy Gregory with the No. 60 pick (via NFL.com’s Marc Sessler):
“I think it gives us enough confidence that we can work through some of the issues that have basically caused him to drop and maybe improve on that. That’s certainly the plan and have us a heck of a contribution to winning.”