Dee Ford chosen 23rd by Kansas City

ANNISTON – Auburn's Renaissance Man has a new home.

Dee Ford is headed to Kansas City, drafted by the Chiefs with the 23rd overall pick in the NFL Draft Thursday night.

"We targeted four guys and Dee Ford was in that group of four," Kansas City general manager John Dorsey told reporters late Thursday. "We clearly thought he was the second-best pass rusher in this draft. ... At the end of the day, we got the guy we really wanted."

WATCH:John Dorsey's press conference

Auburn's leader in sacks each of the last two seasons, including 10 1/2 last season, Ford brings an immediate boost to the Chiefs pass rush, which tied for sixth-best with 47 sacks last season.

The Kansas City coaching staff favors Ford as a 3-4 outside linebacker opposite Tamba Hali, with former Alabama star Nico Johnson on the inside with Derrick Johnson.

"We're going to teach him how to play outside linebacker," Chiefs coach Andy Reid told reporters. "He's somebody that you can work in there immediately in third down (and) nickel situations."

WATCH:Andy Reid's press conference

Naturally, the 6-foot-2 252 pound Ford is very excited to join an already strong defensive group.

"We're going to do some work," said Ford, who hosted a private party with friends and family at Ambitions nightclub in Anniston on Thursday. "I'm going to learn from all of them, From top to bottom they are a dynamic pass rush."

Ford said he was surprised Kansas City chose him because he did not have any personal workouts with them leading up to the draft.

His senior season and Senior Bowl week, topped off with a game MVP performance, earned Ford a first-round selection. He'll receive a four-year contract, with a team option for a fifth year, and is expected to earn approximately $8 million, based on last year's rookie contracts.

"I plan on being a Kansas City Chief forever," Ford said on a conference call with Kansas City reports, "no trading me."

For a player considered by most draft analysts to be a "borderline" first-round pick, the party, complete with Montgomery band "Sold Out," was a bit of a public relations gamble for Ford, who never wavered in his belief he was going to be chosen in the first round.

The scene was joyous well before Ford was drafted, as he took to the keyboard and played while his musically gifted family sang gospel music. He opened the festivities by thanking his guests, saying he wanted to do a "personal" gathering of friends and family rather than attend the Draft in New York.

Ford was outspoken in the months leading up the Draft.

During the NFL Combine he claimed to be a better pass rusher than South Carolina Jadeveon Clowney, who went first overall to Houston. Ford was scratched from workouts the next day due to an issue stemming from a 2011 back surgery, which caught he by surprise. He later worked out during Auburn's Pro Day.

Ford missed the first two games of the season with a knee injury, making his production even more impressive.

"He played a major role in our success and that was a 75 percent healthy Dee Ford," Auburn defensive line coach Rodney Garner said earlier Thursday evening during a speaking engagement in LaGrange, Georgia.. "I felt like if he would have been 100 percent he probably would have ended up with five more sacks."

Ford is the sixth first-round pick to play under Garner, who spent 15 years at Georgia prior to returning to his alma mater.

"For Dee, in my opinion, to go from a relatively unknown prior to the season, to be in position to be a first-day guy, I think is pretty remarkable for him," "His commitment and the way he went about business, and working hard every day, and being diligent, and being a leader, and trying to be a sponge, trying to take everything that we were trying to put into it."

Ford was instrumental late in several games for Auburn, making the game-sealing sack of Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M and smashing Aaron Murray on the final play against Georgia.

"He made great impact plays," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "You look down the stretch in those key games, he was a factor and they definitely look for that."