Brett Veach Defines the Kansas City Chiefs 2019 Offseason

Brett Veach Defines the Kansas City Chiefs 2019 Offseason

by Laddie Morse | March 1, 2019

The new league year hasn’t technically begun yet but judging from the buzz around the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana you’d never know it. This week all the NFL prospects — who are allowed or invited to the combine — have already gathered and the poking and prodding has commenced. When the coaches and general managers address the media and the media are able to ask those long thought out questions which have been hanging in the air over the offseason, it’s like an unofficial kickoff to the new season. The Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid addressed the media on Wednesday afternoon at 2:15. Then, GM Brett Veach took questions on Thursday at 2:00PM Central time. While I found Andy Reid’s session to be revealing in almost no way at all, the Brett Veach Q&A session was filled with little diamonds which we’ll explore here.

Veach on RB Damien Williams

“He came in the preseason and showed flashes, he just needed an opportunity, and when the opportunity presented itself he took it and ran with it. That’s why we extended him. He’s always been found to be a player who can run, catch, block, do everything great on special teams. But I would say going into the 2019 season, it’s Damien’s job to lose.”

I “like” Damien Williams a lot but don’t think he’s the long term solution for the Chiefs at RB even though Williams is only 26 years old. I’d love to be wrong about that… however… it’s that time of year when almost (or at least half) of what coaches and GMs say is meant to divert the opposition from what their true intention is in the offseason… meaning: Free Agency and especially The Draft. So, while I’m sure that Veach, and Reid, both love them some DWill, it may be their intention to draft another RB in the 2nd or 3rd round… or even sign one like they did last offseason, to back-up Kareem Hunt (Damien WIlliams).

Veach on What Steve Spagnuolo’s Prototype

“A guy who’s long, athletic and lean, like all [defensive] coordinators, right? I mean, guys with a high motor. Guys that are smart, passionate, loving the game… it’s consistent throughout the league, but I think people probably put more on an emphasis on size and length for sure.”

I thought, at that point, Veach was mailing it in and was not giving the media anything unique to Spagnuolo. It’s as if he had not even talked with Spags. I was also worried that he was going to take the Andy Reid route… that of, giving stock answers that really reveal nothing. Now, Reid doesn’t always do that, but this week, he might as well have.

Veach on RB Elijah Holyfield

“No, yeah, he’s a good player. A physical runner and I think he’d fit in well with our running back crew. We certainly like bigger backs. I think you guys all know in the K.C. area that I have a thing for 220 pound backs who can run and catch and block. He fits that bill so he’s certainly an intriguing player.”

This is an example of when a GM is so open and effusive about a specific player… that I think there’s not chance that the team will draft him.

Then Veach was asked about MU’s QB Drew Lock who lives in the Blue Springs area and Veach confirmed that he also lived in Blue Springs and said some nice things about Lock, and, that, “He probably won’t have to wait long to hear his name called on draft night.”

Veach on S Eric Berry

“No, look, I mean, going back to last year, no one was more frustrated than Eric, you know, in kind of the way that whole thing went. We’re comfortable where we’re at with our players and we have a plan in place for these guys and agin, no one’s more excited to get back going than Eric.”

The subject of Eric Berry is a difficult one to approach, much like Justin Houston, but it’s also different. For Chiefs fans, Berry has reached deity status or something close to Princess Diana status, when she was alive, for the people of England. He’s nearly untouchable as far as criticizing him so projecting his departure is much more gut wrenching. Other fans are like: he’s done, it’s over. What matters here, is what the decision makers with the Chiefs think. Looking back at last year, do you believe the Chiefs organization knew where Berry was at in the recovery process any step of the way? I have to believe the answer to that one is no. How could they? They would repeat the same tired slogan over and over again — “day-to-day” and to many here at ArrowheadOne it has become a joke to even mention it. In fact, the term, “day-to-day” has gone through its own rollercoaster ride of meanings… at first it was used to protect Berry… then it was used to be funny… then it was used to poke of a jab at the player… then it became more than a tired axiom, one that so many of us here never want to hear again.

It’s the tone that these two set this week: both Reid and Veach sounded calmly dispassionate about what will happen with Eric Berry. Do you think for one minute that it will be acceptable for Berry to return and then sit out a week during training camp? I’m thinking that if they anticipate having to say the words, “day-to-day” one more time then Berry is finished as a Kansas City Chief. It’s been the time of year for evaluating and they have to have asked themselves what they’ve gotten out of Eric Berry over the past season — and the past two seasons — and I think that has them thinking that he can’t be relied upon for anything. This team is getting to make a legitimate Super Bowl run and they need to know who they can count on. That leads me to conclude that they are leaning towards releasing Berry with a post June-1st designation as soon as possible. Who knows what will happen for sure, but I didn’t hear any excitement or passion in either Reid or Veach’s voices to make me think they are truly thrilled about his returning this summer.

Brett Veach on CB Charvarius Ward

Compare what Brett Veach had to say about Charvarius Ward in terms of volume and expressiveness:

“I think the tape he was able to put on late in the season was certainly encouraging. Now look, there wasn’t a large body of work. These offensive coordinators are very talented, and they find ways to expose people and they find tendencies and weaknesses. You can certainly say there wasn’t a lot of tape yet for him to be exposed. But I think he has a unique skill set. He is big, he is long, he is fast, he is athletic, he is tough.”

I’m thrilled that Ward is just starting out his career with the Chiefs and it looks like he’ll be counted on moving forward. However, the way Veach talked about Ward was refreshing and even though he was expressing some limited view of what Ward can do… an unknown quality as to his future… it was a totally different attitude than when he spoke of Berry. I was also thrilled ot hear Veach say, ‘You can’t have enough of those guys” when referring to good DBs.

The Way Veach Will Draft in 2019

I know there are differing opinions out there about whether or not Veach should move up or move back in this draft but, he has made it clear he likes to have his options and that the 8 picks he currently has give him the flexibility to move up and down the draft board:

“We’re just excited to have a lot of picks to work with…. Listen, there are consensus drop-offs, you have your top 10 players, then you’ll have your top 20… there’s a big discrepancy between 20 and 30 and then between 30 and 40. When you’re not picking until the [end of the] 1st round, it makes it challenging and you’ve got to try to get creative in any way you can but, I certainly think that having picks, multiple picks in the second round, certainly adds to your ability to manipulate the board a little.”

The Chiefs aren’t just going to come right out and say, “Hey Chiefs fans, we’re trading Justin Houston and dumping Eric Berry.” It just wouldn’t work well with the Chiefs fan base. However, I think that’s exactly what we may be looking at over the next few weeks and months. Thursday gave us a lot more to think about than when Andy Reid took the stand on Wednesday. Next, we’ll have to let the moves the Chiefs make be our true guide to what their actual offseason goals are.

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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