As the Kansas City Chiefs shift fully into offseason mode, general manager Brett Veach is in unfamiliar territory with a top-10 pick. After years of selecting near the bottom of the first round, often at No. 31 or No. 32 following deep playoff runs, Kansas City now finds itself at No. 9.
Veach admitted the perspective feels different when he met with reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday.
“It’s funny, you know, every year when we were picking 31, 32, I’d always say, man, if we were just at 24 or 25, we’d be exactly where we wanna be,” Veach said. “And now we’re at nine, I’m like, man, if we were just at four or five, we’d be exactly where we wanna be.”
For the head of the Chiefs’ front office, the draft remains an exercise in patience. Unless a team holds the first overall selection, nothing about the process can be counted on.
“I think every GM kind of has that mindset where, you know, unless you have the first pick, there’s a certain element that you can’t control, and you have to let the dominoes fall,” he added.
Draft board
Still, Veach is “excited” about the opportunity — not just at No. 9, but throughout the first two days. He pointed specifically to improved flexibility in the second and third rounds — something Kansas City hasn’t often enjoyed while drafting at the end of each round.
“It’s not just the first round,” Veach explained. “I think we have an opportunity to really capitalize here and add a lot of talent throughout the course of the draft weekend.”
Beyond positioning, Veach addressed another factor reshaping roster construction: the impact of NIL in college football and how it is altering the age and profile of draft prospects. When underclassmen’s decision deadlines passed, Kansas City adjusted its draft strategy significantly.
“I believe we moved over 25 guys off our board that we had top 75, top 100,” he stated. “So it’s really impacted, I think, the draft, and then you’re getting older, older prospects as you go on.”
According to Veach, that shift has changed the type of player traditionally available in the middle rounds.
“Typically, the second and third round would be those guys that maybe they didn’t play a lot, but they were young,” he said. “Well, now these guys are just bouncing and getting paid by another school and getting paid and playing.”
The result, he acknowledged, is a smaller pool of younger developmental prospects.
“You’re getting a little bit more already finished product,” Veach continued. “And so that’s challenging, but I think it’s, again, what we have to adapt to.”
Positional value
That adaptation also extends to how Kansas City balances draft strategy with free agency — particularly when evaluating positional value.
“There’s the old school… you’re always gonna O-line, D-line,” Veach said. “Those positional values are there; you see them in free agency.”
At the same time, he pointed out that some of the top prospects in this class play positions traditionally viewed as less premium.
“Arguably, some of the best players in this draft are maybe at non-premium positions,” Veach observed. “Those are really, really good players. It’s hard to find faults with their tape.”
The challenge lies in long-term roster construction and positional scarcity.
“Some of those more premium positions, interior D-line, edge rushers, you know, they’re hard to find,” he explained. “And with those guys, the problem with those guys is they’re hard to find, and then they don’t really become available in free agency.”
Conversely, certain positions may be easier to address on the open market.
“Some of those other positions, they’re good players, you’ll probably eventually get a chance to get some of those positions in free agency,” Veach added.
The bottom line
Ultimately, he made clear that the guiding principle remains unchanged despite a shifting draft landscape.
“At the end of the day, I think, is when a guy is going to come in here and be a great contributor on the field, off the field,” Veach said, “stick to that old mantra, take the best player available.”
For a franchise navigating an uncommon draft position while adapting to a rapidly evolving college system, the objective remains steady: maximize value, account for positional scarcity and continue building a roster capable of returning to contention.
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