By Spike Eskin

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Mychal Kendricks thought he was going to be taken in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He wasn’t, and he wants to prove that was a big mistake.

Kendricks was last year’s Pac 12 defensive player of the year for Cal. Instead of going in the first round like he planned, the linebacker slid into the second round and was chosen 46th overall by the Eagles. Whether it was his height (5’11″) that made people pass on him doesn’t matter Kendricks. “Man I don’t know what it was honestly,” he told 94WIP’s Anthony Gargano and Rob Ellis.  “Whatever it was, I’m going to make them pay for it. And you can quote me on that.”

Not only was Kendricks surprised he slid into the second round, he wasn’t expecting the Eagles to be interested. “I was so surprised. I knew Philly had been looking at me a little bit,” he said. “First off, I thought I was going in the first round. I thought I’d get picked up by Baltimore, The Giants, New England. Oh yeah, the Steelers too. When [the Eagles] picked me up, I was ecstatic, I saw the area code, and I was like ‘I’m not familiar with this one.’”

One of the responsibilities that Kendricks will have with the Eagles is covering opposing tight ends. He’s got a plan for how to do that. “I’m going to give it my best. I don’t see why I couldn’t (cover tight ends]. I’ve got a safety’s help on top. I’m not always in man,” he said.  “But I’m going to be on his ass.”

I just play ball man. That’s just me. You’re not going to want a guy who says ‘I’m going to do my best and if he beats me he beats me.’ Nah man, you’ve got to be the best. You’ve got to go out there and take it. That’s what I do. That’s what I go out on the field and try to do.”

While the Pac 12 isn’t known for defense, Kendricks says that it’s an underrated conference in that respect. “We play fast,” he said of the conference. “Speed is the name of the game. The game is changing. You gotta be fast man, and that’s what we do.”