Kansas City Chiefs: Brett Veach has made a lot of key moves already
Brett Veach has been the general manager of the Chiefs for less than a year. Even so, he has impressed a lot of people after trading Alex Smith.
It has been nearly eight months since Brett Veach was named the general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite not having a full offseason to show what he can do to help a franchise, Veach has already raised a lot of eyebrows in and outside of Kansas City.
While Veach has made some moves since July, he got plenty of attention and praise from many people after he traded quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins and got more than what anyone could have expected. Since July, Veach has been very active in doing everything to help put the Kansas City Chiefs in position to succeed.
The first notable move started in late August when the Chiefs traded a 2019 fourth-round draft pick to the Buffalo Bills to acquire inside linebacker Reggie Ragland. After being inactive for the first three games of the season, Ragland eventually became the starter over Ramik Wilson.
Despite falling short to the Buffalo Bills and the New York Giants in back-to-back games in November, Ragland logged nine tackles in each of those games, being a key player in preventing the Bills and Giants from dominating on the ground and holding both offenses to 3.1 yards per carry combined. Ragland collected 44 total tackles in 12 appearances with the Chiefs, starting in 10 of them. With a full offseason under his belt in Kansas City, Ragland is expected to start and help Kansas City improve in stopping the run in 2018.
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A month later, one of Veach’s biggest moves as a general manager came on special teams. The Chiefs picked up rookie kicker Harrison Butker in late September off the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad. As the replacement for Cairo Santos, Butker finished first in the AFC in field goals made with 38. Butker did this despite not playing the first three weeks of the season while a member of the Panthers’ organization.
Another notable move involved the addition of Darrelle Revis, one of the best cornerbacks in NFL history. Revis’ resume includes seven Pro Bowl appearances, four All-Pro honors and one Super Bowl ring with the New England Patriots. Although Revis had a poor showing in the five regular season games and one postseason match with the Chiefs, Veach made a move in attempt to help the defense improve in November.
The most recent move that has Veach receiving a lot of credit is the Smith trade. While Veach managed to free up $17 million in cap space, he was able to pull off more than what many expected, acquiring a third-round pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller.
Bleacher Report’s lead NFL writer Matt Miller and former Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan, who drafted Fuller, both expressed their thoughts on the trade.
I still can't believe Veach got a 3 and a starting cornerback for 34 year old Alex Smith with one year left on his deal.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 31, 2018
I would have never traded Kendall. He can play inside & outside, he's high character, young & a football player https://t.co/DFpx4au6oG
— Scot Mccloughan (@MccloughanScot) January 31, 2018
According to Pro Football Focus, Fuller allowed a 55.0 passer rating when covering the slot in 2017, which was the lowest in the NFL. He also allowed 0.74 yards per coverage snap, which was the third lowest among slot cornerbacks last season, per PFF.
PFF rated Fuller as the sixth best cornerback in the league in 2017. Fuller had four interceptions and one forced fumble during his second season in the league.
Next: Alex Smith trade says great things about Brett Veach
In addition to these moves, Veach has also made trades for linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis and offensive lineman Cam Erving during his short time as the general manager of the Chiefs. So far, Chiefs fans can’t complain with the job Veach has done. After switching general managers three times in nine years, Chiefs fans have plenty of reasons to be excited about the future with Veach in charge.