Kenny Golladay comments on being drafted by the Detroit Lions

Shortly after being selected by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Kenny Golladay met with the media. Here’s what he had to say.

On how it feels to be a Detroit Lion: “It feels amazing, man. I’m definitely excited. Words can’t even explain.”

On his communication with the Lions throughout the pre-draft process: “I kind of just kept an open mind to everything, but I definitely met with Coach (Robert) Prince before my pro day and then he was at my pro day and worked me out some. He sent me through a few reps and then I actually went on a visit to Detroit. I mean, it was all just good vibes. It was definitely a learning process, but I enjoyed it. Like I said, it was just good vibes.”

On what people have told him his skills can bring to the NFL: “Just to be honest, I’m just blessed with my size, to be honest. I’m happy that I am this size. I feel like I use it well and I’m just trying to make a play when my number’s called. That’s all I’m really here for. Whenever my number is called I just want to be there to make the play.”

On the opportunity he has to be the Lions’ third receiver: “Coach (Robert) Prince definitely talked to me about it, the challenge that’s ahead of it. I’ve taken on many challenges and I’m just ready to take on the next, just ready to put my best foot forward and go to work.”

On what he knows about the Lions’ offense: “I know Matthew Stafford is a good quarterback and I’m just willing to learn more about the offense. I’m not too familiar with it, but I’m definitely ready to learn.”

On how he was able to be productive in college despite being the No. 1 target for opponents: “Well, first off, I like to first put it all on preparation. Me and the quarterback, we pretty much practice hard and the coaches gave us the game plan and the only thing we had to do is just execute in practice and when it came to the game it was much easier. Practice is way harder than the game.”

On his football journey to the NFL: “I was really just a guy who fell under the radar, really. I didn’t get no offers out of high school. I got one offer and that was North Dakota and I just had that drive to play football. I’ve been playing all my life. Even though I’m from a big city like Chicago, I knew I wanted to play football, so I took that path to North Dakota and I did what I had to do pretty much. I played my true freshman year. I played my sophomore year and stuff pretty much happened. The coaches ended up getting fired, so I made my own highlight tape. I gathered all my film, made my own highlight tape and sent it to my coach, Todd Kuska at St. Rita and just told him to do me a huge favor, and that was to just send my tape out to the college coaches that were coming in. And he jumped right on it, man. I feel like it only took him a week, maybe two. I sat there and talked to my family and they were going to have my back through thick and thin, man. I made that decision. I was blessed. I stood out that 2014 season, 2015, 2016 just hit the ground running.”

On what it was like going from Chicago to North Dakota: “It was different. It was way more chill. It was a little bit slower. The weather wasn’t too different, so that wasn’t a huge problem at all. It was definitely different. Coming from Chicago, busy, really busy—and going to go Grand Forks (N.D.), you know, much slower. It was just different, but at the same time it was a great fit.”

On what his last season in college was like having played with multiple quarterbacks: “Really just keeping my head down and continue to grind. I can’t control nothing that’s going on in the quarterback room. I’ve just got to make it easier for the quarterback and that’s getting open. So if we have a younger quarterback back there, I put more pressure on myself to make sure I get open. I want to make it easier for him and that’s all I pretty much worked on. And that’s all our receiver coach told the receiver room, too. We have a younger quarterback back there. We have to make it that much easier for him and that’s pretty much what I focused on.”

On how he developed great hands as a receiver: “It’s just work, you know? Offseason, catching a lot of balls with the quarterback after practice, a little bit before practice, catching balls off the JUGS. It’s a lot of repetition.”

On if he grew up a Bears fan: “Being from Chicago you’re pretty much a home team guy, but it wasn’t just definitely have to beat the Lions or have to beat the Green Bay Packers. It was pretty much I just want the Bears to win, but that’s totally different now.”

On if he kept a copy of the highlight tape he sent out to college coaches: “I actually did not. I might have made an extra copy and gave it to my mom, but I didn’t keep it. You know, once I figured out I was leaving North Dakota, I pretty much kind of erased that and focused on strictly Northern Illinois and made sure I set myself up for success.”

Next: What to watch for on day three

*All quotes provided by the Detroit Lions.