The 5 biggest surprises for the Kansas City Chiefs so far
Veach strikes gold
Brett Veach’s first draft class as the general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs has been, well, not so good. In April of 2018 the Chiefs, under the direction of brand new, first time GM Veach, selected: DE Breeland Speaks, DT Derrick Nnadi, LB Dorian O’Daniel, S Armani Watts, CB Tremon Smith, and OG Kahlil McKenzie. The team traded away their first round pick in 2017 to acquire Patrick Mahomes (good move, as it turns out).
With the 2018 selections, the Chiefs managed to procure one starter (Nnadi), two players who are no longer on the team (Smith and McKenzie), a player who contributed nothing as a rookie and is on IR the entire 2019 season (Speaks), and two players who barely see the field but have clung to roster spots (O’Daniel and Watts). Eighteen months in to their collective NFL careers, the class is bad.
As bad as the 2018 class was, the 2019 class, however, has the potential to be that good. Veach once again found himself without a first round pick, this time trading it for star pass rusher Frank Clark. But he also managed to secure the services of wide receiver Mecole Hardman, safety Juan Thornhill, defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, corner Rashad Fenton, running back Darwin Thompson and offensive lineman Nick Allegretti.
The 2019 rookie class has already produced a starting safety (Thornhill), a highly contributing return man/wide receiver (Hardman), and two players who have played incredibly well in significant action filling in for injured starters (Fenton and Saunders).
While Thompson has not seen the field much (yet), he did show in the preseason flashes of significant, lead back potential that we suspect he’ll get to showcase at some point in the future. No one would be surprised to see Allegretti be the starting center next year.
Saunders will continue to get significant playing time moving forward, and could find a starting role if the Chiefs do not resign Chris Jones. Hardman will likely be the WR2 next year with the free agency of Demarcus Robinson (and depending on what they do with Sammy Watkins). Thornhill will be a starter in the secondary for the forseeable future. And, finally, Fenton looks like he’ll at worst be a key contributor in the secondary for Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.
The 2019 rookie class has been outstanding, and appear to have an incredibly high ceiling. Veach swung and missed in the 2018 draft. But the 2019 class has all the makings of a grand slam. This has been the greatest surprise thus far of the 2019 season.