KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- If Dwayne Bowe wanted to make a good first impression, he failed miserably.
Kansas City's first-round draft pick began his professional career by showing up 30 minutes late for his first practice. Stretching exercises and coach Herm Edwards' welcoming remarks were finished by the time the wide receiver from LSU hurried onto the field for the opening session of a three-day rookie minicamp.
Then the 6-foot-3 Bowe, who described himself on draft day as "intimidating," proceeded to drop several passes.
He also caught quite a few, and looked good doing it. But he did admit that for this one afternoon at least, he did not feel quite so intimidating.
"Today I felt kind of in-between, going against new guys, new quarterback," he said, "Not knowing the timing. But it's all football. You've got to go out there and compete."
He said he was late because he "had some things to do."
"Just a minor thing," he said.
His tardiness was not lost on a new boss who puts a premium on punctuality.
"I don't know. I think he had a shoe problem," Edwards said.
"That's what those big guys have. You know, when they get those big contracts they don't know what shoes to wear, I guess. I don't know. But he was here. He started practicing. He was in the drills. He dropped some balls and I told him relax.
"I thought he relaxed more (in the afternoon session)."
One wide receiver who showed up on time was Brad Ekwerekwu, a three-year starter at Missouri who was not drafted. The 6-3, 216-pounder knows the odds are stacked against all the undrafted free agents who'll be fighting and clawing to make a good impression before veterans start arriving for their workouts before next month's full-squad minicamp.
"I'm just happy to be here," he said. "I'm happy to get another shot playing football. I'm out here doing what I love to do. I think it's great."
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