GM MIKE BORGONZI
(opening comments)
Obviously we put the pick in tonight, drafted Cam. We said we wanted to go through the entire process here with Cam, and we did that. I'll tell you that I first got here, I had watched Cam in the past a little bit but really hadn't studied him a ton. So the first thing, when I came in here, it was to really watch all the quarterbacks.
I wanted to do it separately with Brian and myself, Chad, the rest of the staff, Reggie, Dave. So that was kind of the process we went through. We watched every game that he played in at Miami, Washington State, went back to Incarnate Word, and then we kind of got together and talked about it. So that was the first part of the process.
Where it really started to come together -- and I'll tell you really before the combine, we made a decision, you know, if we go through the rest of it -- we really never met him before to go through the process and talking with him and how impressed we were with him, just the person, the football intelligence of the person. You could feel the competitive edge when you talk with him. You can feel the confidence.
It's not cocky or arrogant, but there's a confidence there that you need to have as a player and a quarterback. So we went through the combine, his pro day, private workout. Got to meet his family. He comes from a great family. Great support system.
So, you know, we pretty much had all the answers -- all the questions answered probably couple weeks -- probably three weeks up to the draft where we felt comfortable and we made that decision.
(on Amy Adams Strunk making the trip to the private workout, her interactions and what the back and forth was after that)
So it just happened to be the owners meetings down in Florida that week, and we had it scheduled for that Friday, I believe it was, before the owners meetings. And Amy joined us during that time at his private workout. She got to talk with him, meet with him. He's from the same area down in Houston. So they had a lot of common things to talk about. And then just meeting his parents and she got to see him workout and talk with them. We felt great and she felt great coming away from that workout.
(on if he thinks that Ward would have been the best quarterback in a lot of different drafts in the past)
Yes, I think that the talent was there. I think the one thing that stood out to me when I first started watching him is he had -- a lot of quarterbacks have great arm talent coming out. But the one thing that stood out to me was really just his instincts and his processing ability, the spatial awareness that he has on the field, his pocket awareness. Now, there's things he has to improve just like any other young quarterback.
But those are the things that really jumped out to me that I thought, you know, this kid has a chance to be special. And then just going, like I said, going through the process and getting to meet him. He's very smart. He's intelligent. At that first meeting at the combine, we had a pretty good idea where we were going.
(on how seriously they considered some of the trade offers)
I did want to listen because I think you have to do your due diligence and listen. And I did that. But I think we came to a decision that we weren't going to move off that pick and we wanted Cam.
(on what made him so convinced to pass that up and have Ward be the pick)
I just think if you identify a franchise quarterback, there's really not a price you can pay for that, in my mind. Like I always said, that's the most important position in all of sports, and if you come to a consensus -- and we did -- that he has the potential to be that, like I said, he's a young quarterback and he still has a lot of things to work on, but I think the intangibles with him, his work ethic, his want-to to become better, we felt comfortable with that.
(on whether the trade offers came before or after the three-week period when their minds were made up)
They came before, yeah, and after. But it was multiple times we had some offers. I don't want to go into specifics of the teams and what the offers were. But, you know, we were approached multiple times for that pick.
(on how many teams wanted to trade)
I don't want to go into specifics on the teams but we had offers.
(on connecting himself to this quarterback, starting the clock on the window he has with the quarterback)
I don't think you do it unless you're convicted. I felt like I was convicted.
(on whether Ward was the number one player on the board)
He was, yep.
(on comparisons with Patrick (Mahomes) and if he puts any stock in that)
You know, some of the things I mentioned about instincts and spatial awareness, when we studied Patrick coming out, I thought Cam showed that. Now, he's got a long way to become Patrick Mahomes, future Hall of Famer, three Super Bowls right now, but there were certain traits I think that I saw that I've been around Patrick a long time, his ability to process and the instincts kind of stood out to me.
(on if the the veteran receivers they have added also help in his development)
I think Tyler, bringing him on, is going to be big for us, just having a veteran presence in there, dependable.
(on if they are done for tonight, or is there any impulse to try and get back into the first round)
We'll see. I'll have to go back down there. But we'll see.
(on whether the addition of Tyler Lockett changes anything as far as the projections go, and what might be ahead for day two)
Not necessarily. It won't change anything we have on the board adding a player. I think our mindset is the same. Like I said, we're going to approach day two just seeing who the best available player is on the board for us. Like I said, we have a lot of holes right now that we want to fill. I think we want to stay true to the board and draft the best player that we can.
(on if he feels any more inclined to stick there in Round 2 as opposed to move, or is that TBD)
Yeah, we'll have to see what players are on the board at that point.
(on Travis Hunter going to Jacksonville and whether that makes this decision -- his conviction about Ward, their conviction about Hunter -- puts even more of a spotlight on it)
Not necessarily. Travis is a great player. I knew that one watching him, special talent. Great kid. But it doesn't put any more pressure, spotlight on it, no.
(on what it meant to be able to make the phone call to a pick for the first time)
Yeah, it was a special moment. You put a lot of work into getting into this position. It certainly wasn't me. I just had to call him, but it really was a collaborative effort between coaches and scouts to come to this decision.
(on what gives him confidence about Brian Callahan's ability to develop a quarterback)
Well, he's been around a lot of pretty good ones now. With Peyton and Stafford, and obviously Joe. He's gone through the development part, and we've had discussions on that and just how they develop Joe and things they did with him. So he's seen it done before. So I have full confidence in Brian.
