KANSAS CITY - The Kansas City Chiefs selected cornerback Marcus Peters with the No. 18 pick in the NFL draft Thursday night, taking a chance on a player kicked off the team at Washington in an attempt to help their defense in the pass-happy AFC West.
The 6-foot, 190-pound Peters was considered one of the top defensive backs in the draft, but he gave many teams pause after his dismissal last November.
Peters said at the annual scouting combine it was "miscommunication, mostly on my behalf" with new Huskies coach Chris Petersen's staff that led to the problems. Peters, who also failed a drug test early in his career, acknowledged he "didn't take the coaching transition too well."
With his checkered background in mind, his agent Doug Hendrickson encouraged Peters to visit any team that wanted to meet him. The result was a whirlwind tour of the league that included a stop in Kansas City, where he evidently made a strong enough impression on general manager John Dorsey and coach Andy Reid they were willing to give him a chance.
Despite his off-field issues, Peters's ability when the ball is snapped is undeniable.
He started the last eight games of his freshman season, became the Huskies' regular cornerback by his sophomore season, and had three interceptions in his first eight games as a junior.
It was at that point that things with the Washington coaching staff boiled over.
"We all make mistakes at times in his life. Marcus realizes that," Reid said. "We feel comfortable he realizes that. It was an emotional situation and he didn't handle it the right way. I think he's learned from it, just from our experience with him."
Reid said he thought Peters was the best cornerback in this year's draft.
"Not only is it an important position from a defensive standpoint, but we also don't have a lot of numbers there," Reid said. "You take that also into consideration."