Chiefs welcome first-round pick Peters on draft's last day

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs introduced first-round pick Marcus Peters at their practice facility Saturday before turning their attention to the final day of the NFL draft.

Peters, a cornerback from Washington, was joined by general manager John Dorsey and coach Andy Reid for a series of photo ops. Then, he calmly answered every question about his checkered history, including the events that led him to getting kicked off the Huskies' team.

"Having the experience I did at U-dub caused me to learn from it and for me to walk in an NFL locker room," Peters said. "I'm going to attach to some veterans just to learn how to be a pro, to learn how to conduct myself as a man."

Peters acknowledged that he didn't take a coaching change at Washington well, but insisted that he matured after being dismissed from the team. In fact, Huskies coach Chris Petersen later welcomed him back to work out with other players preparing for the draft.

"In the preparation for the draft, the weeks leading up to it, John mentioned to me that Marcus might be a player who's available who we would have interest in," Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said. "So when we got around to the draft Thursday night, we talked about it again, and he said, 'Look, we're good. We feel our support structure here is great and it would be no problem."

The Chiefs filled a major need by choosing Peters with the No. 18 overall pick, then backed it up by choosing Oregon State cornerback Steven Nelson with a third-round pick Friday night.

Kansas City also addressed its offensive line by taking Missouri's Mitch Morse in the second round and at wide receiver by trading up to grab Georgia's Chris Conley in the third round.

"We're thrilled to be able to bring Mitch here," Hunt said. "Obviously the University of Missouri tie, he'll be known to a lot of our fans. His family has quite the history in the Kansas City area, so I know his entire family is excited he's coming here."

The Chiefs filled another of their gaping holes by spending their fourth-round pick Saturday on linebacker Ramik Wilson, who played with Conley at Georgia. Wilson will likely play inside, and could be groomed to take over for Derrick Johnson down the road.

"It's going to be great. He's a Pro Bowler, great teammate, great team leader," Wilson said. "I think he's perfect for someone to learn under. I can't wait to work with him."

Conley and Wilson join several Georgia players already on the roster. All-Pro linebacker Justin Houston was the Chiefs' third-round pick in the 2011 draft, cornerback Sanders Commings a fifth-round choice in 2013 and quarterback Aaron Murray a fifth-round pick a year ago.

"It's going to be great with Justin Houston," Wilson said. "He always comes back after the season, rehabs at Georgia. Sometimes works out. We've had a chance to talk a lot."

Area scout Dom Green said Wilson is more versatile than linebacker Nico Johnson, who was chosen in the fourth-round two years ago but is no longer on the roster.

"Nico was more of a thumper, a run guy," Green explained. "This guy can do both."

With consecutive compensatory picks in the fifth round, Kansas City chose inside linebacker D.J. Alexander -- a teammate of Nelson at Oregon State -- and James O'Shaughnessy, a tight end from Illinois State. Both selections filled positions of need for the Chiefs.

Kansas City still has choices remaining in the sixth and seventh rounds.