Brett Veach: Roster Building Genius – An article on roster building after Week 2 seems 3 weeks too late, but in lieu of the number of changes the Chiefs have already made, and may still make (this week?), now is as good a time as any week, to review the roster build completed by Veach YTD (year to date).
2019: Veach the Draft King
If I told you a team had 14 picks in the first 4 rounds back in April prior to the draft, as a fan you might assess that team is rebuilding (i.e. 2019 Raiders and 2020 Dolphins). You could easily imagine the draft day trade up/trade down possibilities with all that draft capital.
If told you that team was the Chiefs, you might say, “Big deal, I created that kind of draft capital on First-Pick”. And that would not have been a lie because I created multiple mock drafts earlier this year, wherein I traded down to get 10+ players in the top 150.
Note to self: First-Pick needs to change their algorithms because trading is w-a-y too easy and no team will ever amass 14 picks in the first 4 rounds.
Or will they?
If I told you in 2019 reality, the Chiefs had 2 – first rounders, 5 – second rounders, 3 – third rounders, and 4 – fourth rounders (14 picks total in the first 4 rounds) you would slap me in the face and tell me to wake up!
Well I did, and that is why I am writing this article. It really did happen. 14 picks in 4 rounds. Kind of.
You see Veachy-boy with the deftness of a skilled poker player:
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- traded for Lee and signed Claiborne (former 1st round picks)
- traded for Clark and signed Ogbah, picked up McCoy, and drafted Hardman and Thornhill (all second rounders)
- signed Mathieu, traded for Rankin, and drafted Saunders (each a third rounder)
- signed Okafor, Wilson, Bell and Breeland (all fourth rounders)
Veach did all of this in 2019 alone… and that does not count the 3 -sixth rounders and 1 – seventh rounder on the 53 man roster, that he also added.
Now add in the 2018 additions:
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- Watkins (first)
- Speaks and Henne (second)
- Nnadi, O’Daniel, Fuller (third)
- Watts and Hitchens (fourth)
- Reaser, Lucas, Reiter and Ivie (fifth through seventh)
- FA Damien WIlliams (UDFA- Dolphins, 2014)
- Traded for Charvarius Ward (UDFA – Cowboys, 2018)
- Possibly more impressive, the Chiefs own UDFAs of: Niemann, Pringle, Hunter, Wylie, Yelder and Darrel Williams
2018 added 20 survivors and 2019 saw 18 additions to the current 59 man roster (includes 6 on injured reserve and suspension). That is 64% of the roster in two years!
By reviewing the table below, one could assess the Chiefs are a drafting disaster with only 7 successful draftees in 4 years (2013 to 2016). And that is not an entirely wrong assessment.
Since Colquitt and Allen are the only 2 survivors from the B.A.R. era (Before Andy Reid), and Sherman and Winchester are the only 2 surviving FA’s from early Andy days, only 12 players on the current roster of 59, were acquired before 2017.
Now, do you remember who the drafting GM was during this era? Mr. John Dorsey. And Dorsey liked Marcus Cooper, Terrance Williams, Ramik Wilson, Nico Johnson, Phillip Gaines, and…. (please sir make the nightmares stop!)
Dorsey got fired, Veach got the job, and the Chiefs are the better for it. Much better. Super Bowl caliber better.
Dorsey has 8 players in 4 years still on the team, 2 All-Pro’s (Fisher and Kelce) and one close in LDT; meanwhile In his first trial year of 2017, Veach added 8 survivors including 3 All-Pro’s – Mahomes, Schwartz and Butker).
Since Mahomes is an MVP and HOFer…
Advantage: Veach
Veach took over and pushed the Chiefs roster transformation into hyper-drive, not just adding players (quantity), but also by adding quality – 22 players in two years drafted in the top 4 rounds by either the Chiefs or some other team.
The table also clearly displays Veach’s eye for talent and drive for quality players even quality depth players. I do not think the lack of Dorsey players on the 2019 roster is Veach “getting rid of the old” or “keeping my guys”.
It is more clearly (in my mind anyway) – obtaining higher quality talent. Period. I think having 3 starters who were originally UDFA’s added in 2018 alone, proves this fact. The fact so many of us were disappointed by Cody Thompson NOT making the 53 man roster proves the quality of depth.
How many of our 2018 and 2019 cuts are already on other rosters? Enough. I am not going to count them. But Jimmy Murray and Tremon Smith snatched in a heart beat off waivers this past week alone, proves the Chiefs Got Talent.
Be of good cheer my friends. Veach is in charge… and the future is bright!
Think abundance. Not lack.
David Perkins — ArrowheadOne
Stop by at noon today to read Ransom Hawthorne’s piece called, “Reiter Wrong: Chiefs Issues Flying Under the Radar”
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