Brett Veach brings new veteran emphasis to player acquisition

The Kansas City Chiefs seem to have a stronger focus on veteran acquisitions with Brett Veach at the helm as general manager.

You have to wonder whether Jeremy Maclin or Jaye Howard would have ever received their pink slip if Brett Veach had been given the keys just a bit earlier. In a surprising offseason where John Dorsey was allowed to leave early rather than become a lame duck general manager, Veach was given the new job as his trusted replacement, an internal promotion that allowed for maximum continuity and familiarity.

Yet if anyone bet on Veach to simply stay the given course, the first few weeks have proven that theory incorrect. It’s not as if Veach has made any serious, signature moves as of yet. He’s likely still hanging a few pictures on the walls of his new office. That said, the few moves he has made give us a bit of a clue into what we might expect going forward.

So far, it seems that Brett Veach doesn’t trust the player development model built by Andy Reid and John Dorsey quite as much as his predecessor. Consider the following moves by Dorsey heading into another season in which the Chiefs are expected to contend:

Dorsey released Jeremy Maclin, leaving Albert Wilson and his incredible three-season resume (without a single season over 500 yards) as the most tenured receiver on the roster.
Dorsey released Jaye Howard even though sunk costs didn’t create that much financial flexibility in the process, creating space for younger players like Tanoh Kpassagnon, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Earl Okine and others to have to step up.
Dorsey was concerned enough with linebacker depth to kick the tires on veterans like Gerald Hodges and Rey Maualuga but declined to sign anyone, which was going to allow room for roster hopefuls like Justin March-Lillard, Rakim Wilson, D.J. Alexander and Ukeme Eligwe to fill in next to Derrick Johnson, who is returning from injury.

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In each of those instances, it’d be easy for an outsider to point to the Chiefs and question their depth. Each of those positions, in the state Dorsey left them, were key roles for the “next man up” maxim to take root. Dorsey clearly trusted the coaches to take the players he’d acquired and mold them into productive players. It worked. There was four years worth of work on a pipeline of trust and talent. Last year was the perfect example, as the Chiefs unexpectedly found impact talent in year one from Tyreek Hill and Chris Jones.

Both Dorsey and Reid preach that every player has to be ready, that you have to trust the process. As Chiefs fans, it was easy to be nervous early on with Dorsey in charge because some areas would feel woefully thin heading into the season. But one draft hit after another eventually built up a roster full of credibility.

One great example is the offensive line, a unit that Dorsey completely remade year by year into a young, controllable and ascending line with key acquisitions that took time to transform while never bottoming out. Dorsey never had five rookies just go to it. Instead, he rotated key pieces over time, trading Rodney Hudson for Mitch Morse, Jeff Allen for Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. From a top draft pick and major free agent signing to multiple mid-to-late round picks, the Chiefs watched it all come together over time without ever sacrificing their competitive edge along the way.

Given the keys, Veach has looked at two of these three aforementioned positions and used his power to fix the “insecurity.” The moment Veach was given charge over the roster, he brought back reliable linebacker Josh Mauga to make sure the Chiefs would have a familiar face and solid veteran who knew the playbook around in case of an emergency. If DJ has physical issues returning from an Achilles tear or a young guy is not ready, Mauga is there just in case.

The same can be said of the defensive line. Jones is now injured and needs a couple weeks to return. Allen Bailey is also returning from a season-ending injury. Bennie Logan was necessary but the Chiefs also lost Dontari Poe, so the depth was still being tested. Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Tanoh Kpassagnon could potentially step in, but there’s no way of knowing until it matters most. Now the signing of Roy Miller removes some of those worries.

These aren’t bad moves. In fact they might be necessary ones. The Chiefs are beating other teams to some of these lingering veterans, and we might be thankful in the end when we realize just how much the team leaned upon them in 2017. However, it’s also possible that the potential growth of players like Kpassagnon and Nunez-Roches, Eligwe and Wilson, were all stifled because veterans were allowed to take many of their reps.

From here, Veach seems to prefer a more secure roster on paper than his predecessor. It will be interesting to see if the new GM also worries enough about wide receiver to bring in a player and if this emphasis on veterans will continue over time. If so, it signals a more risk-averse front office than we’ve had in recent years—one that returned the Chiefs to postseason form.

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