Q. A lot of scouting reports about Kadarius describe him as a gadget player. How do you describe his skill set?
CHRIS PETTIT: He's a playmaker. He's an instinctive, he's tough, makes a lot of plays with the ball in his hands. We feel he has flex inside and out. He also has value as a returner for us. Like I said, this is an instinctive, tough guy with very good athletic ability and speed.
Q. There were some character concerns in the background. Joe said you dug into that, talked to him and people who knew him. What's that process like when you're trying to dig into a prospect like that and are you just talking to a lot of people? How does that work exactly?
CHRIS PETTIT: Well, our scouts in the fall talk to everyone they know on campus via Zoom and phone calls, we work them, every player, all fall. We had a chance to meet Kady T down at the Senior Bowl. We spent time with him in person to get to know the person there and that continues. Then our security staff goes through every check that we do on every player.
Listen, if there was a concern with him, he wouldn't have been on our board. And like Joe said, we thoroughly vetted him through Zooms and phone calls throughout this process of the spring.
Q. This kid was a high school quarterback I believe. How is he as a receiver and can he play some gadget plays for you at quarterback?
CHRIS PETTIT: Gadget plays at quarterback? That's up to Joe and Jason and his staff. But he did; he has excellent athletic ability. He's versatile. That's what we like about him but like every player in the draft, he's raw, every player in the draft and every player has to develop into a pro. So it will take some time but this guy is a playmaker with the ball in his hands.
Q. The natural comp, he went to the same school as Percy Harvin; how similar or different they are?
CHRIS PETTIT: Percy is a little before my time but both fast and play-makers. There's a comp there, I'm sure.
Q. Is he a guy that you envisioned when you look at him as being in the backfield or that guy that can do that?
CHRIS PETTIT: Again, that's up to Jason and Joe and their staffs, what they do with him. He's sure instinctive and smart enough to do that but like we said, the best thing about him, we feel he can play inside and out and add another weapon to our offense.
Q. Obviously so much was made about the top three receivers in this class. I'm just curious from your perspective, how do you see Kadarius in that second group or how close is he to the top three guys?
CHRIS PETTIT: He was close enough, we felt like he was the best player available at the time we took him. I don't know if there was a big separation, if I can say that, but like I said, he's right up there and he was worthy of a first round pick, so that shows you what we think of him.
Q. Last week you and Dave talk about how there's development but also when you bring in a guy, you want him to contribute. Is Kadarius close enough to being a polished receiver where you think he could come in or is there still developmental stage? I know that is for all rookies, but how close is he to being a part of this offense from the jump?
CHRIS PETTIT: He's close. He's played at a high level at Florida. Made a lot of big plays on a big stage, so I think he's ready mentally. He's tough. He'll be ready to go.
Q. I know he was down at Senior Bowl. Did getting in front of him in person, is that an important part of vetting a guy like this and actually looking him in the eyes, especially this year?
CHRIS PETTIT: Absolutely. We actually met with him the first night down there, one of our last interviews and we got to spend a lot of time with him. Really great to meet him and get that face-to-face at that point in the scouting process and then watch him throughout the rest of the spring throughout the Zooms, more and more time, really get to know him and get to know the person and feel really good about him.
Q. Did you take extra time on the Friday or did you have a long meeting?
CHRIS PETTIT: We had a long meeting, it was one of the last ones of the night, like I said and we got to spend a little extra time than was allotted. So it was really good.
Q. What do you remember about that meeting? What struck you and did you come out of that meeting saying that this is a guy that we could see on our team?
CHRIS PETTIT: Yeah, it was, we were all tired, that process down there was pretty strenuous of going back-to-back to back of these long interviews which was great. But it was late in the night and we were tired. We were talking through plexiglas and everyone had masks on and he brought energy at that point. We love that. He brought energy to the room, to the conversation. Was easy to talk to. Was open and honest and we loved everything about that conversation.
Q. That was the first time you got to meet him person-to-person?
CHRIS PETTIT: That's the only time, actually, person-to-person throughout this process with the rules the league set out.
Q. I would imagine in your evaluation of him, your thinking of him as a guy if he's in the second round, because if there's no trade you're not taking him at 11. Two questions; is that true? Do you look at him and say, we love it if he's in the second round for him?
CHRIS PETTIT: Obviously we had a first round grade on him. That's the value. I did not think he would be there in the second round. Any time you get him, it's a great value for him.
Q. For someone like you who evaluates all the players, when you see the players coming off the board, what is your sense as a guy who is thinking, okay, we are going to get the cornerback, this receiver, and then the trade? Is there a sense of deflation, like, okay, now we have to do this all over again in a half hour?
CHRIS PETTIT: No. No. Because again, you let the board come to you, and I think that trade was an excellent trade to get assets for us for the future. You know, we get another first round player, which is potentially another first round starter. That's an excellent, excellent opportunity for us. We had to take advantage of that.
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