Baldwin’s focus is on getting better
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
ST. JOSEPH | The pressure already was weighing on Jonathan Baldwin. He was feeling it.
Baldwin, the Chiefs’ first-round draft pick, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound wide receiver from the University of Pittsburgh, signed his contract eight days ago, joining his new teammates and facing the expectations that no rookie — especially an early draft pick — can avoid.
Earlier this week, Baldwin said he was ready for this challenge.
“Every day they pick out a few rookies who have to sing,” Baldwin said. “So I think today is my day.
“I’ve got a couple of hours to figure out what I’m going to sing.”
It was the first test for Baldwin, whose career will come with expectations and questions, particularly after he called out his former college quarterback and criticized his coaches. Baldwin said he was prepared for whatever lay ahead, whether that’s singing in a hazing ritual at a team meeting or playing his first NFL game as the Chiefs’ likely No. 2 receiver.
“Only thing I can do, only thing I can control now is how hard I work,” he said. “I really can’t say anything about what everybody else says. I’m just going to continue to do the things that I’ve been doing.”
Coach Todd Haley said his newest project — he was a receivers coach before becoming a coordinator and head coach, and he still takes an interest in wideouts — appears to have the tools necessary to be a standout NFL player. Baldwin is big and fast, and Haley said there’s more to Baldwin than the speed limit often associated with being a possession receiver.
“The indicators are good,” Haley said. “Speed is not an issue. I think it’s easy to just say he’s a big possession guy. Until we get going and pads are on and these guys get their legs under them, I don’t know that we’ll see really all that’s there.”
Haley said he caught a glimpse of Baldwin’s focus on Tuesday, the team’s day off. Haley was headed toward the Chiefs’ offices at the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex at Missouri Western, and there was Baldwin, hoofing back to the team’s dormitory, on the hottest day of the year.
When Baldwin could’ve stayed in the air conditioning, ignoring coaches’ suggestions that players take care of their bodies, he spent time proving that he not only can catch and run. He can follow his coaches’ instructions, too.
“Good signs that a guy is focused in the right place, and he wants to succeed,” Haley said. “I’m getting late-night texts from him, and those are all good signs.
“I felt good when I saw a guy not worrying about much else other than doing the things that we’re asking him to do.”
Baldwin spent Friday in the team’s conditioning area after appearing to suffer a leg injury a day earlier. Haley has said he plans to take a cautious approach with all injuries.
Baldwin caught 127 passes for 2,325 yards in three seasons at Pittsburgh. He raised concerns before the NFL combine, being quoted by a website that he thought his coaches were “purposely trying to disrupt my draft stock.”
He showed no such signs of outspokenness this week, when he was short and direct with his answers. He wouldn’t even reveal who his NFL idols are, saying he preferred to avoid answering that question.
Whatever baggage he might have picked up in Pittsburgh, Baldwin connected enough with the Chiefs that they were willing to draft him. Not only that, Baldwin has connected with Kansas City’s fans, too. His Twitter page has more than 8,000 followers, and he occasionally tweets about the Chiefs and his expectations.
He did share one goal:
“Win the Super Bowl,” he said. “Same goal as everybody else.”
Not long after that, Baldwin headed toward the locker room, where he said he would decide on a song to serenade his teammates with that afternoon.
“I’m going to get it going in the locker room in a little bit,” he said, turning the conversation briefly back to football. “I try to do everything. I don’t want to do just one thing. I just try to work hard at everything.
“You’ve got to do all the little things, extra, working extra, just doing all the things that you can to make yourself different.”
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