Transcript: GM Schoen/HC Daboll after Robinson pick

General Manager Joe Schoen and Head Coach Brian Daboll

After Second Round Selection of Wan’Dale Robinson

April 29, 2022

JOE SCHOEN: We took Wan'Dale Robinson out of Kentucky. Good football player we've had our eye on, generator with the ball in his hands, very good run after the catch, very good route runner, can separate. And for what we are going to do offensively, we thought he would be a very good fit for us.

Q. Did you go into this day thinking, I want to trade down?

JOE SCHOEN: Yes.

Q. And the reason for that?

JOE SCHOEN: We just thought it was what was best for us at this time. More picks would benefit us the most we thought based on who was on our board.

Q. So would you stay at 36 or did you have a pick there?

JOE SCHOEN: We had deals in place before the Draft started. So we were confident. We knew we could move back. That was part of the plan.

Q. Both deals were in place?

JOE SCHOEN: We had a couple deals in place, and then the one at 38 wasn't necessarily in place, but it was something that we had talked about we would potentially be able to do, and then we were able to do it.

Q. Seems like a similar type of skillset to Kadarius Toney. Does bringing him in impact --

JOE SCHOEN: Is that a bad thing?

Q. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. Does it impact Kadarius at all?

JOE SCHOEN: You guys saw Kadarius. I'll take as many of those guys as we can on the field. Again, he's a generator when the ball is in his hands. He can run after a catch. He can separate from DBs, he gets open. He played some running back at Nebraska. That's a versatile piece you can use in your offense. If you look at some of the other guys, how you can use them, and if you look at Daboll's past or you look at Kafka's past in terms of the creativeness in their offense and the weapons they can utilize, I think you can kind of see what the vision may look like.

Q. Brian, is he the kind of guy you look at, do you start thinking about all the different pieces you have already?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I think you do that when you evaluate all these prospects, is make sure they are a fit for your team, whether it's a receiver or a guy that plays in the back end or up front guys, what they can do for you.

Like Joe mentioned, versatile, got quickness, explosiveness, he's tough even for a smaller guy. Been a very productive player really going back to high school when he played there in Kentucky. So a guy we're anxious to get our hands on and work with and implement into our scheme.

Q. You're not going to be able to coach him bigger. Is size a concern?

BRIAN DABOLL: I've coached a lot of small guys: Deion Branch, Super Bowl MVP, Isaiah McKenzie last year.

I mean, your job as a receiver is to get open and catch the ball, however that may be. Some guys are quicker. Some guys are faster. Some guys are bigger. But if they can find a way to generate and get open, then you use their skillset to the best of your ability.

Q. What was out there with Kadarius recently, would this affect his future with the team at all? Would you view it that way?

JOE SCHOEN: We like the player. If he can be like Kadarius when he's on the field and he's healthy, we'll take as many of those guys as we can.

BRIAN DABOLL: Kadarius has had a good week.

Q. Did you expect Robinson to be available for you at this point?

JOE SCHOEN: Yeah, we were hoping so. When we looked at certain players that may be there, he was a guy we thought could potentially be there and we have a very clear vision for the player and look forward to utilizing him.

Q. Did I hear you say Kadarius had a good week?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I said Kadarius had a good week. Good to see him. Jumped right in and chugging along.

Q. Have you shut the door on trying to trade him?

JOE SCHOEN: We’re not shopping Kadarius Toney.

Q. So you're not going to trade him?

JOE SCHOEN: Reflect on what I just said.

Q. When a cornerback went right before, was that someone on your radar, seemed like a guy that fit with your needs?

JOE SCHOEN: Yeah, he's a guy we spent time on, good football player. It was Minnesota that took him. But yeah, we are happy with who we got in Wan'Dale?

Q. When you do trade down, you got a bunch of guys circled, you know you're going to miss this guy, this guy and that's just the way it is, do you have four or five guys that you say, we're good with all these guys?

JOE SCHOEN: We had a bunch of guys circled. Some needs that we need to address, so we're working on that and we'll continue to work on that through tonight and tomorrow.

Q. Were you were shopping those picks --

JOE SCHOEN: Shopping, yes, that's something I was shopping.

Q. Were you surprised that there weren't many teams coming up for the quarterbacks?

JOE SCHOEN: Yeah, when teams call you and they want to make moves, you don't really know what -- you can speculate but you don't really know what they are coming up for. We did get some calls from teams from further back today, and we speculated that that may be what it was. But you never really know what they are coming up for.

So you just have to be, hey, these are the players, this is how many picks I'm moving back and there's a chance you're going to lose a couple of these players, is there still going to be somebody there that you're happy with. So that's kind what have we take into account when we do consider moving back, who may or may not be there.

Q. Did you give any thought to taking a quarterback in the second round given the value?

JOE SCHOEN: No, we didn't.

Q. Have teams been unwilling to trade picks in next year’s draft?

JOE SCHOEN: It's come up in a couple conversations, but it was moves that really didn't make sense for us. Wasn't a win for us by any means in those conversations that we had.

Q. You guys both saw McKenzie when he grew up in Buffalo. Is Wan'Dale somebody like that? Do you see similarities to what you guys were able to do with McKenzie?

BRIAN DABOLL: I hate to compare guys from one system to the next. I understand the question relative to their size and some of their abilities. I'm just anxious to get him in here. He had good production on his college tape and a guy we thought we could utilize. Some of it will probably be like Isaiah, I would assume, but I don't want to say that's for certain until we get him in the building. But he was excited. It was a good call.

Q. Is this kid Robinson a slot or is he slot and outside too or what?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I think he can do both. You know, I think he can play inside, and I think he's strong enough and fast enough, even though he's a smaller, shorter guy, that he can contribute outside, too.

Again, what we're trying to do is put as many generating pieces out there to create pace and stretch the field, whether it be vertical or horizontally, and this is another good guy that has ability to run after catch, which is an important aspect of it.

Again, receivers, and I understand the questions, they come in all different shapes. You know, there's big, tall guys that can make unbelievable contested catches. There's shorter quicker guys that give them five yards and they are going to create separation, and ultimately our job is to figure out what we have here between KG and KT and Shep. We have to figure out our pieces and put them in the right spot. Slayton.

Q. He had a bunch of drops. Do you see something in his hands or something you can fix?

BRIAN DABOLL: I think he's got good hands, yeah.