2018 NFL draft: Kansas City Chiefs stay out of first round despite trade rumors

Despite rumors on several fronts that indicated the Kansas City Chiefs could and would move up in the draft, Brett Veach stayed put with his eight draft choices.

In the days and weeks leading up to the 2018 NFL Draft, a few key storylines began to emerge (and converge) about teams at the bottom of the first round as well as the Kansas City Chiefs—namely that a trade could be in the works.

Specifically, a lot was made about Brett Veach’s overall aggression in his role as a general manager, and the Chiefs GM even fanned the flames on those thoughts with comments of his own. Veach stated that in running their own mock drafts as a front office, he kept moving up to take his players.

"“I think every scenario had me trading up, and my [scouts] were like, ‘We have a lot of good picks here,’” he laughed."

The Chiefs’ first pick doesn’t come until No. 54 overall in the second round after the team traded their first overall selection at No. 22 to the Buffalo Bills due to the Patrick Mahomes trade in 2017. Rumors were swirling that the Chiefs could move up from that spot back into the bottom of the first round for a cost of a second and third round pick, the latter of which they have two at their disposal.

Next: The 6 best players for the Chiefs in Round 2

The most likely trade partner for the Chiefs was the Philadelphia Eagles, who said before the draft that they are willing to move down in the right deal. The Eagles ended up trading their pick to the Baltimore Ravens. However it’s clear now that either the Chiefs never presented enough of an offer or none at all, knowing that plenty of great players are still left on the board for the Chiefs to select from on Friday night.