After the Bears traded up two spots to select Leonard Floyd with the ninth pick in the draft, the Georgia outside linebacker spoke to the Chicago media via conference call.
Here are five things we learned from that interview session:
(1) Floyd wasn't surprised that the Bears drafted him, especially hitting it off with general manager Ryan Pace, coach John Fox and others during a pre-draft visit to Halas Hall.
Leonard Floyd is excited about joining a linebacking corps that includes veterans Pernell McPhee, Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman.
"I knew they were interested pretty much the whole draft process," Floyd said. "They always showed me the most love of all the teams that I had been to."
(2) Floyd is excited about joining a linebacking corps that includes veterans Pernell McPhee on the outside and Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman on the inside.
"Knowing that I'm a rookie, I'm going to be quiet, listen to all the guys and what they have to say and just learn from them," Floyd said.
(3) An athletic pass rusher who led Georgia in sacks each of the past three seasons, Floyd is eager to show Bears fans what he brings to the table.
"They're definitely going to see a lot of speed, a lot of explosion," he said. "They're going to be able to tell that I love to win and I'll do anything to win and I'm going to play like that."
(4) Floyd patterns his game after a nine-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker Fox coached in Denver.
"I want to emulate DeMarcus Ware," Floyd said. "I want to be the spitting image of him. I want to dominate the league for a long time and sack quarterbacks."
(5) Floyd intends to become more of a multi-dimensional pass rusher in the NFL.
"I want to add more power into my pass rush moves, develop a great power move to go with my speed," he said. "I feel like that's a big thing I need to learn and pick up in the league."
