MIKE BORGONZI: I'm real excited about the two guys we added here tonight. Carnell Tate, we thought he was the best receiver in the draft.
And then coming back up and getting Keldric Faulk, who really fits this defense. I mean, long, can play outside, inside. Looking back to some of Saleh's defenses, too, it reminded me a little bit of Armstead when he had him there in San Francisco.
Real excited about adding these two guys here tonight. Great character guys, too.
Q. Specifically, about Tate, what is it that he brings at wide receiver that adds to this and can help out Cam Ward?
MIKE BORGONZI: Well, he's a bigger, vertical guy. The route running, very efficient, his route running. I thought he had exceptional ball skills to be able to track the footballs, catch radius downfield.
I think he's going to be a great fit in this offense. And you know, he's 20 years old last year playing at Ohio State. He's a young kid. So is Keldric; they are both 21 now.
But Tate has the ability to play big downfield. That's the one thing, all these contested catches downfield, his ability to go up and catch the football, contort his body in certain ways. I think it's going to be great for Cam.
Q. Seeing him run after the catch and run after contact was something a lot of people wondered about. What do you think he does with that at the pro level?
MIKE BORGONZI: I mean, listen, all these guys have to improve in certain areas.
What I think he really does well, though, is at the top of routes and he's able to separate in his burst and everything to separate at the second, third level, and you can see the burst off the line of scrimmage, too.
And those are always things -- there's always things these guys can improve on. They are still developing and how much do you project him to be next year on the offense and.
Q. I know it's early but how much do you project him to be an X in this offense? And as an X, you're on the ball, how do you see him being able to play against press coverage?
MIKE BORGONZI: I see that he does a pretty good job at it. Some guys win versus press different ways. With him, you know, he's elusive and sudden off the line of scrimmage a lot. When we study these guys, we're able to cut up all these plays off coverage, press coverage, and that was the one thing that really stood out, just his savviness to get off the line of scrimmage and his quickness.
Q. So you figure him to be an X?
MIKE BORGONZI: I think he can play off all around. He's played inside, outside. He's played X. He's played Z. I think we can move him all around.
Q. Obviously you're looking for a No. 1 tight end receiver, but to draft him that high, and he played No. 2 to Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State last year. What convinced you that Carnell could be a No. 1 in his own right?
MIKE BORGONZI: Listen, when guys come to the League, they want to project No. 1 receivers. You have to work your way to be a No. 1 receiver. You know, the guys that he's played next to are some pretty good players over the last couple years at Ohio State.
You know, I saw a 20-year-old kid that continued to get better. And his ability to get open at the top of the routes and really catch the ball downfield, that's the one thing that really stood out to us is his ability to track the football.
Q. Was there a deciding factor that led to you choosing the next receiver available over the best linebacker or some of those other guys you talked about?
MIKE BORGONZI: Yeah, those guys were really good players. We did a lot of work on Carnell. Had a chance to see him at practice at Ohio State late in the fall. Spent time with him at the Combine. Brought him in here. Really smart. He's really an unselfish player, too.
When you study these guys, too, on tape, and some of these receivers and how much they block, and he actually -- you know, he's feisty in there as a blocker as well. We spent a lot of time on him, and you know, credit to our coaches, too. Spent a lot of time on him, too, when we brought him in here.
So we're really excited to get him here.
Q. Any thought or any potential to slide him back a little bit and still be able to get him?
MIKE BORGONZI: No. It's all a fluid situation on Draft day. You get calls, and we felt really comfortable staying there at that point, yeah.
Q. Did you get the sense that Keldric would not be there at 35?
MIKE BORGONZI: Yeah. Just looking at some of the needs and stuff, and where we had him on the board, he was our highest-rated guy at the time, and we thought, you know, this guy really fit the defense well. So we just went up; when you see a player that you like, you just go up and get him.
Q. Obviously very deep on the line but at wide nine, maybe not so much. Do you feel a little unbalanced there?
MIKE BORGONZI: No, not necessarily. I mean, these guys come in waves, and I feel good about some of the outside rush ends that we do have right now. And Keldric, we can move all up and down the line of scrimmage, really.
Q. You have a lot of personnel out there where you're not playing with a guy that plays that wide?
MIKE BORGONZI: No, some of these guys will line up wide. You've seen it in the defenses. You're always looking sometimes for some of those, like speed -- speed guys in there. But you know, it's just the way -- these guys come in waves in Saleh's defense.
Q. As far as the production is concerned, he talked about the pressures and turning those into sacks at the higher pad level. From your perspective, what do you think needs to happen for him to be able to actually take down the quarterback more consistently?
MIKE BORGONZI: Yeah, it's all about development, and he's a taller guy. Like I mentioned Armstead before, and coming out of college, it was kind of the same thing. These guys, they have to learn to play with some of the pad level, and being a guy that's 6'6, these guys will -- we have some really good coaches here. So all these guys are still developing. But that's one area, yeah.
Q. What is a reasonable expectation you think for Tate right away coming in?
MIKE BORGONZI: Listen, we're going to take it -- I don't want to set expectations for anyone, but I think with a he's going to do he's going to come in and work, put his head down and work and earn his role here. We're confident in that.
Q. Both Carnell and Keldric seemed pretty surprised that you fives were the team that you picked them. Obviously you said you did your research on them, but how do you balance with not giving away who you like and figuring out that you like the guys?
MIKE BORGONZI: Yeah, both of them are really high-character guys and I actually got a chance to see Keldric versus A&M before one of our games this year. I remember going to the game early in the year. So I spent some time with him.
Q. Why do you think his skill set and everything didn't turn into more sack production?
MIKE BORGONZI: I think these guys are still learning how to play with some more pad level, and I think that will get there eventually.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports