Clark Hunt: Brett Veach has “exceeded my expectations” as Chiefs general manager
By Matt Conner
Kansas City Chiefs general manager has earned high marks from everyone, including the team owner, for his first several months on the job.
If you’re happy with the job that general manager Brett Veach is doing so far as John Dorsey’s replacement with the Kansas City Chiefs, you’re not alone. From the fans in Chiefs Kingdom to NFL analysts to his boss, team owner Clark Hunt, Veach has earned the praises of nearly everyone.
Hunt says he didn’t expect too much upon hiring Veach for the forthcoming season. After all, the composition of a roster is largely finished by mid-summer—the time of year that Veach was added. Yet as we all know now, that didn’t stop Veach from putting his foot on the gas to address what he believed were key issues.
"“At the time I hired him, I thought he was joining the team at a point where it would be very hard for him to have much of an impact on the 2017 season, and I would say he exceeded my expectations with some moves that he made.”"
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Veach’s biggest stages are yet to come with the opening of free agency and the upcoming NFL Draft, but he certainly has not shied away from making impressive moves. He made a couple quick trades to bolster the linebacking corps as well as the offensive line with his preseason acquisitions of Reggie Ragland, Kevin Pierre-Louis and Cameron Erving. The linebackers in particular helped stave off the decline of Derrick Johnson in the middle and provided much-needed youth in the middle.
He also replaced Cairo Santos with Harrison Butker as a practice squad addition from the Carolina Panthers, a rookie who went on to make 38 of 42 field goals despite missing the first three games of the season.
Most recently, Veach decided to pull the trigger quickly this offseason to address the biggest question mark on the roster: Alex Smith. Instead of letting concerns linger about whether or not the Chiefs would keep Smith and Mahomes for another year, or even to allow trade offers to come and go, the Chiefs were secretly shopping for potential returns during Super Bowl week and decided to not let the month of January end without taking care of things. The result was not just a haul that earned praise from most, but it also allows the Chiefs to rip off the bandage and move on without clouding the rest of the offseason.
Given how decisive he’s been so far, it only makes the forthcoming FA period and draft that much more exciting to watch. Chiefs Kingdom is in good hands with Veach in the front office.