Laddie Morse
This may not be the best time of the season to evaluate the Kansas City Chiefs GM, but… Veach is starting his 8th season as the General Manager of the best team in football. If K.C. wins a third title in a row, there’s no reason not to think of Veach as the supreme being of GMs… and that would include all sports. As it stands now, Veach could be considered the best GM in the NFL… and why not? He’s made moves to keep the team together through the past two seasons — two seasons in which his team won the grand prize — plus he’s fixed troubling positions like the Safety position or the OL during his short stint as the head man making moves with the roster.
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I like where this team has improved over the past few seasons. Take a look at the drafts Veach has anchored, but before we do that, let’s take a look at his mistakes… or you could call them flubs.
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Flubs
Breeland Speaks
Likely Veach’s biggest flub up was his first selection in the person of Breeland Speaks. Speaks was the 46th choice in the 2018 NFL Draft but only lasted one season with the Chiefs. Of course that pick was designed to play in the Chiefs 3-4 defense under Bob Sutton, which is now a 4-3 under Steve Spagnuolo. Speaks played in all 16 games as a rookie but only started in 4 games. He added 24 tackles and 1.5 Sacks. In the offseason of 2019, K.C. fired Bob Sutton and brought in Steve Spagnuolo and his 4-3 defense. Speaks was put on Injured Reserve before the season ever began then was suspended for substance abuse in December of that year and while the Chiefs were going on to win a Super Bowl, they did so without the help of the first pick in the 2018 draft. Speaks bounced around he league but finally ended up with the Michigan Panthers of the USFL where he had 3 sacks in his first game. That got him an invite by the 49ers but was waived 16 days later. Speaks went back to the Panthers where he became the Defensive Player of the Year just last month.
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Clyde Edwards-Helaire
CEH has had an up and down career with the Chiefs. Here he is on a good day:
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Maybe it was a mistake to call CEH a star, because although his rookie year he had 803 yards gained on the ground, his production has gone down, down, down ever since (517, 302, 223). Out of 67 games CEH could have played in, he started 32 of them, or in other words, 47.7%. That’s not what you’d expect from a first round pick. CEH was the 32nd pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Andy Reid once said, “Clyde Edwards-Helaire is better than Brian Westbrook.” I’m not so sure about that one.
CEH was the first RB off the board in the draft that year, but the Chiefs could have taken any number of other RBs including: D’Andre Swift, Jonathan Taylor, and J.K. Dobbins. In four season CEH has gain 1,845 yards total (or 461 YPY) while D’Andre Swift has gained 2,726 yards (or 681 YPY), or Jonathan Taylor has gained 4,582 yards (or 1,146 YPY)… you get the idea.
While I would have been fine with the Chiefs taking CEH in the third round or later, by taking him in the first round, that makes him a bust. Now, he appears to only make the team as a good locker room guy… and… he does have some value on the field, especially since he hasn’t been hurt since 2022.
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Dubs
Dubs… you know… wins. Now, let’s compare those draft choices to the recent success Brett Veach has had. Back in 2019, things began to change. Veach may have drafted Mecole Hardman because he wasn’t sure how long he’d have Tyreek Hill, but his other picks that year turned out to be pretty darn good as well. Here’s the 2019 Draft for the Chiefs:
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Pro Football Reference – Phot Credit
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I’d say that all but Darwin Thompson were excellent picks. Nick Allegretti just left for a starting role and a big bag of money with the Washington Commanders. That’s a real success story for Veach as much as it is a success story for Allegretti. A big part of the job that Brett Veach has is re-tool ing the work shed wile maintaining his GOAT. Yes, Patrick Mahomes is the best QB in the league and perhaps ever, so while Veach keeps Mahomes happy, he must draft well enough to keep Mahomes surrounded by the best players he can find.
Many will argue that Chris Jones and Travis Kelce (plus Tyreek Hill and all the draft picks that were brought in because of him) were because of Veach’s predecessor, John Dorsey, but it was actually Brett Veach who found Patrick Mahomes and said,
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“I’d never seen anybody like Pat[rick] Mahomes
and never saw a better football player.”
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Rashad Fenton
Rashad Fenton played well for K.C.. Two years ago he was traded for a conditional pick and then went on to play for the Arizona Cardinals in 2023. He remains a free agent.
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Khalen Saunders
Khalen Saunders also payed well for K.C.. He’s now with the New Orleans Saints and I’ll never forget the flip he did which is likely the way he got noticed. Obviously, he’s very athletic.
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Juan Thornhill
Juan Thornhill was an up and down and up player for K.C.. His rookie season was an up season then he got hurt at the end of that year and played poorly in his comeback year. The next season was better but not up to his rookie season standard. He is now a Brown.
Mecole Hardman has re-signed with the Chiefs this year and is likely to make the roster again this season.
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In 2020, Veach drafted CEH then Willie Gay, Lucas Niang, L’Jarius Sneed, Michael Danna and Thakarius “BoPete” Keyes. Gay has moved on to the Saints and if you need a reminder, I believe Gay was the spirit of the Chiefs. At the very least he was their sideline cheerleader. Sneed I’ll get to in a bit. Lucas Niang is still on the roster but he was sidetracked by his Covid move to sit out. He’s still a very good back-up with the potential to be a starter. Michael Danna is still with the team nad voted on by his fellow players as the player who gets the least amount of credit.
L’Jarius Sneed
In CB L’Jarius Sneed’s rookie year he was ranked 9th over all in a re-draft by Luke Easterling. Sneed was going to be a problem for Veach to re-sign because he turned out to be so good, the Chiefs couldn’t ultimately afford him, as Sneed ended up with a 4-year, $76.4 M deal that included $55M guaranteed. Any way you look at it, the Chiefs were never going to be able to pay him that kind of mulah. So, he’s in Tennessee playing for the Titans, and congratulations to him.
At least the Chiefs came out on top in a trade: K.C. traded Sneed to the Titans in exchange for a 2025 3rd-round pick and a swap of 2024 seventh-rounders. The Titans get pick 252, and the Chiefs get pick 221. The Chiefs ended up trading the 221st pick away. Here are the details (if you can understand them):
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That takes us through the 2020 NFL Draft. Here’s what the 2021 NFL Draft looked like for Brett Veach and the Kansas City Chiefs:
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Pro Football Reference – Phot Credit
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Next offseason will be a bumer for the Chiefs because they will attempt to re-sign Linebacker Nick Bolton, Center Creed Humphrey and Guard Trey Smith. Is it a possibility? I seriously doubt it. Creed is likely the very best Center in the NFL (especially now that Jason Kelce with the eagles has retired), while both Nick Bolton and Trey Smith are among the best at their positions. Noah Gray should be re-signed for the close to the vet minimum.
Joshua Kaindoh played for K.C. for the 2021 season and the 2022 year as well. He was waived last August. Cornell Powell is a WR with all sorts of potential. While he’s still on the roster he likely won’t be kept this year with so many talented WRs in front of him.
I want to note here that Brett Veach has had several very good years drafting.
Here’s the 2022 NFL Draft:
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Pro Football Reference – Phot Credit
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Every single player here is still in the league and viable as an option to make their team. I put it that way because Darian Kinnard now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles and although he’s listed as their 3rd RG behind Tyler Steen and Mekhi Becton he does have a chance to get time on the field this year. If Kinnard does drop back to thier Practice Squad, I hope Veach will snag him back. Yes, I think he was that good and worth going out on a limb for.
This draft was a stellar draft and each player could turn into a star for the Chiefs. Isiah Pacheco was the steal of this draft yet so many of the players have turned into excellent investments… with perhas the exception of Skyy Moore. I’m not even sure he makes the final cut this year.
Here’s a look at last year draft choices:
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Pro Football Reference – Phot Credit
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Felix Anudike-Uzomah has yet to break out. with Charles omenihu sitting on the bench nursing an injury/operation, he could show us what he has this year. His half a sack in 218 defensive snaps must improve for him to be any good to the Chiefs. Rashee Rice has turned into a great WR… minus the off-field problems of course. Third rounder Wanya Morris looks like the Left Tackle position is his to lose. While BJ Thompson is recovering from his seizure cardiac arrest we’ll have to wait and see if he can be of benefit. Keondre Coburn is probably more suited to the 3-4 as a Nose Tackle and now plays for the Titans. Both Chamarri Conner and Nic Jones are still with the Chiefs and we can look for DB Coach Dave Merritt to make good use of them both.
While I think it’s still too early to thouroughly evelauate last years draft, here’s a look at this year’s take:
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Pro Football Reference – Phot Credit
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We haven’t gotten a great deal of time to look at the fastest man in the NFL, Mr. Xavier — 4.21 — Worthy. His absence due to a personal illness is disturbing and while he says he’s never been hurt before, it makes me wonder if he’ll be ready for the week to week grind of the pro game? BTW, to say the name “Xavier” you must first say the “X” in front of the rest of his name to properly pronounce it. It’s not “Zavier”… it’s “X-avier.”
We’re hearing good things about these players so far. Kingsley Suamataia is in a battle with Wanya Morris for the LT position. Jared Wiley is already being touted as the next great TE for K.C.. Jaden HIcks is being called the steal of this draft. Hunter ourzad is being used at all the OL positions and that’s a rarity. Kamal Hadden looks good… really good. Plus, C.J. Hanson is being talked abuit as a player who can make this roster.
I haven’t even gotten into the Free Agents that Brett Veach has signed: guys like Marquise “Hollywood” Brown or Tyrann Mathieu. There may be a percentage more misses that hits with regards to the Free Agents signed. However, there’s no doubting the fact the Brett Veach has hit a boatload of home runs in the draft during his 7 seasons as the Chiefs General Manager. Maybe Veach should join Bobby Witt in the Home Run Derby next year.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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