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"We got calls from New England, too, though I didn't know who they wanted. In our opinion, it was either (Vernon) Gholston or Dorsey, but it might've been somebody else. Anyway, it never got to the stage of 'What are you willing to pay?' We were focused on New Orleans, and when they came up short we just picked him."
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To get Albert, the Chiefs moved up two spots from the 17th position. Kansas City needs offensive linemen like Arizona needs water, and with Albert and tackle Jeff Otah still there at 15, the Chiefs couldn't afford to wait.
"Ryan Clady came off the board at 12, and that's where we figured the run on tackles would start," Kuharich said. "We knew Houston and Philadelphia wanted to get above us, but we didn't know whom they were looking for.
"We thought either (Chris) Williams or Otah was going to go to Chicago, and, as it turned out, it was Williams. So there were two (offensive linemen they were interested) left, and that's when it got a little dicey.
"We knew there were two teams behind us that wanted a tackle, and we knew there was a possibility Detroit wanted a tackle, too. So Arizona calls and says, 'Philadelphia has called to leap over you. What do you want to do to go up one spot?' That's when I told Carl to get on the phone with Matt Millen to see if we can get to 15.
"I was nervous about going one spot (to Arizona) because whoever's behind us could go to 15. So we cut the deal, and we got the guy we wanted."
Second round
Prior to the draft the Chiefs resolved with their first three choices to try to take an offensive lineman, a defensive lineman and a cornerback.
They had Dorsey, and they had Albert. That left a cornerback, with Flowers -- whom the Chiefs ranked no lower than 30th in this draft -- still on the board.
At the 35th spot, he was a slam dunk.
"It didn't take us long to make that pick," Kuharich said. "Nobody called to get up to that spot, and he's a Cover-Two corner. He fits what we're doing. So it was like, 'OK, he's the guy. Let's go.'"
Afterward, the Chiefs fielded calls from clubs below them wondering if they wanted to package two of their three third-round picks into a deal that would put them in the lower half of the second.
Kansas City declined.
"We were ahead of schedule," Kuharich said. "Plus, we felt the board was so good, we would wait until the next day. We had multiple positions and multiple players who were still there, so we were good with whatever came off."
Third round
With the first of their three third-round picks, the Chiefs chose Charles, mostly because they were surprised he was there. They were interested in him and Central Florida's Kevin Smith, but Smith disappeared at the top of the round, and the Chiefs figured Charles would follow.
He did, but not until they took him.
"It was easy, because we went by our board," Kuharich said. "Charles was our highest-rated player at a position we had not picked.
"It came down to how Charles fits us. He's a complementary back to Larry (Johnson) because he's a different style. He's a space runner. He's fast. He has good hands. He's productive. And we had him rated in the second round."
The Chiefs also considered Penn State linebacker Dan Connor at the 73rd spot but felt they were deeper at that position than running back.
"We have only three running backs on the roster, and all three of them got hurt," Kuharich said. "In the nine (second-day) picks we had, we were going to address a running back. So this was easy. We had the best running back on the board."
Three choices later, they had tight end Brad Cottam from Tennessee, a run blocker who should fit in nicely with the Chiefs' plan to hammer opponents with Johnson and, yes, Charles.
"We need a blocking tight end," Kuharich said. "Yes, he has some durability issues, but he immediately becomes Jason Dunn."
