Chiefs: Addition By Subtraction

Addition by Subtraction – By Phillip Maxwell

The observation “Addition by Subtraction” is credited to Lao Tzu, a great Chinese Philosopher who lived some 2500 years ago. Words to live by, spoken by a very smart and wise man.

Brett Veach has taken Mr. Tzu’s philosophy and applied it to the Kansas City Chiefs.

GM John Dorsey of the Chiefs drafted Tyreek Hill in the 2016 NFL Draft. Hill dropped from the top draft to the 5^th round due to non-football behavior problems and pending legal issues. That is what made hill available in the draft when Dorsey selected him.

I am not suggesting that Tyreek was the all-time definition of Steal of the Draft’, especially with the names out there like Deacon Jones, Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Antonio Gates, and many others. I’d say he more than earned a spot on that golden list.

In six short years (6 Pro Bowl selections) with the Kansas City Chiefs, Tyreek Hill recorded 479 receptions for 6,630 yards and 56 Touchdowns…. Blah, blah, Blah. I won’t bore you with Hill’s stats during a Chief because they won’t truly tell the story of just how much of an impact Tyreek had on the Chief’s organization. Opposing defenses had to show up with the perfect game plan or head to the tunnels embarrassed by that man—er—Wasp!

Remember when he juked his way through the entire Dallas Cowboys defense to score late in the first half of a game played in 2017? Who does that? Who else could do that?

Tyreek Hill thrilled the crowd and left announcers speechless dang near every time he took the field. It just plain doesn’t make sense that he will now be doing it wearing an aqua green uni.

I saw the writing on the wall, however. I knew this day would come after Ty rejected a restructure contract in March of 2021. I knew in my heart then that the Chiefs were not going to be able to afford the massive payday that lay on the horizon for Tyreek to grab the bag of gold. The other contracts for WRs set the threshold. When the trade came about, though, Tyreek Hill received the contract that was so richly deserved by the NFL’s most dynamic receiver.

I think the Chiefs were willing to gamble and let Tyreek out of his final contract year when an agreement between the team and the Hill camp slogged to a standstill. That took a terrible turn when Hill requested a trade, albeit with the Chief’s permission.

With one single news headline reverberating around the globe, I am sure you could hear the rending and breaking of Chiefs fans everywhere.

Not since Shoeless Joe Jackson admitted to cheating in the 1919 World Series do you hear sports reporters and fans alike simultaneously yelling: “Say it ain’t so!” Fans were stumbling around in disbelief, saying to themselves “this cannot be right” or “no way” would the Chief’s beloved player of the Kingdom, whom they took under their wing while storm clouds roiled overhead due to the potential legal problems Hill faced? He wouldn’t abandon the team now, would he? The reality of life finally struck home.

We must remind ourselves that this thing we love, this game, is just a business at the end of the day. Had decisions are made in the business world every day.

In the aftermath, Brett Veach played his cards well. Tyreek ended up at his destination of choice, and the Chiefs walked away with five draft picks for a player that was most likely going to walk at the conclusion of the 2022 season regardless of any protestation.

I am no mathematician. In most cases, when you take 1 minus 1, and it equals 5, you would say that this “new math” is working to our benefit and is a great outcome! Or was it? Only time will tell. It is more complex than one might fathom for an organization to regain the magic that a dynamic player like Hill brought to the table. It almost seems to have created an unfillable void. The 49’ers never found another Jerry Rice. The Vikings? Er, well, Randy Moss. Etceteras abound in the NFL with examples.

I sold my 1964 Corvette to help pay for my daughter’s wedding years ago. I told myself, “oh well, I can always get another like her.” Guess What!

Anyway, the Chiefs entered the draft with pressing needs—Corner, Edge, Safety, and receiver. Thanks to the robbery of the hen house committed by the Miami Dolphins like the weasels that they are. The Chiefs had to pivot immediately, signing necessary Free Agents to counter the loss of Hill’s presence. Then the three days of the NFL draft arrived. Brett Veach addressed two of the needs listed above by strategically moving up and down the draft board.

I am pretty impressed. Brett Veach didn’t soil himself under pressure. He didn’t blow the entire wad of draft capital to move up to the top of the board either. Nor did Brett toss cash willy-nilly from the available cap monies. Instead, Brett Veach methodically and systematically lay in wait until the player of choice from the Chief’s board came available before he made his move. Bravo Brett Veach!

I have to admit, I would probably have packaged the two number One Draft picks and a coupon for a free appetizer at Applebee’s for a chance at picking in the top seven draft picks. But that’s why I am a lowly sheet metal contractor and not the GM of the greatest team in the NFL.?

With the Dolphin’s 29^th and 121^st pick and their own 94th, the Chiefs moved up to the 21st spot in the draft via a trade made with the Patriots to acquire CB Trent McDuffie.

The talking heads widely touted McDuffie as a top 20 draft pick and the 3rd among all CBs. Trent is brilliant, has a great football IQ, McDuffie accelerates quickly out of the break, and has excellent hands. McDuffie is versatile, and he can roam the field in varied defense sets. If there is a detriment, it is since his arms are a couple of inches short of the desired metric. They are short, not T-Rex short, but short, nonetheless. His arms are 2 1/2 inches shorter than those of his predecessor, Charvarius Ward, and 2 inches shorter than his future counterpart, L’jarius Sneed.

With the Dolphin’s 50^th pick, Veach pulled off a ballsy move and again paired up with the Patriots, giving up pick 50 and moving back to pick 54. He also gained pick 158 in the process. I say ballsy because Brett Veach had Skyy Moore in his sights, and a WR needy Pittsburgh Steelers would be picking two spots in front of the Chiefs with pick 52.

I couldn’t help but wonder if the Chief’s perspective was that if the Steelers chose Moore, the Veach simply brings Pickens to the roster. But, of course, Pickens was the choice by two of ArrowheadOne’s authors anyway. So I guess we will never know.

I do know that NFL Commentators couldn’t say enough about Skyy Moore and how the Chiefs had landed possibly the best WR in the draft (their words, not mine). He is fast, shifty, and has quick feet. His hands are top drawer, too; dependable. That is my favorite word. Dependable. It appears the reality is for Moore: The Skyy’s the limit.

The 158^th pick, which ultimately arrived from the Dolphin’s 50^th pick (head-scratcher) packaged with the Chief’s 233^rd pick, brought in OT Darian Kinnard. He is a behemoth OT, standing 6’5” tall, and weighs in at 345 LB. The dude is massive. He was All-SEC and All American in 2021.

Kinnard apparently was disturbed by being selected in the 5^th round, so it appears that he will enter the NFL with a chip on his shoulders. Let’s hope that translates to similar results to last year’s delayed draft selection, who had the same response to the NFL ignoring him too. He had a chip on his shoulder as well. That chip translated to OG Trey Smith Turning in some grand game performances in 2021.

With the ROT position seemingly up for grabs on a perennial basis…Maybe Kinnard comes in and competes for and wins the position outright.

So there you have it: CB Trent McDuffie, WR Skyy Moore, and OT Darian Kinnard were the 2022 haul in compensation for Tyreek Hill, and a couple more draft picks in 2023. Only time will tell if the Chiefs got taken to the woodshed on the trade – or not.

I am hoping for something more positive. Akin to what the fierce Warrior in the film “Dances With Wolves,” “Wind in His Hair,” said to Lieutenant John Dunbar, after trading his Military Uniform: “Good Trade”

Phillip Maxwell – ArrowheadOne