Examining Brett Veach’s tendencies in free agency, trades, and the NFL Draft
By Grant Tuttle
Trades: A Veach specialty
If there is any GM in the league that you want making trade offers for your team, it’s Brett Veach (or anyone calling Bill O’Brien). Veach has a short history in the NFL of making personnel decisions but an impressive one in the art of making trades. Incredibly, Veach has made 10 trades during his less than three-year tenure as the GM and most of them have been for an incredible value.
It is impossible to talk about Veach’s trade history without acknowledging the most controversial transaction in recent history: the trade of Marcus Peters who garnered second and fourth round picks. It is important to note that the Rams decided to move on from him as well despite his talent. At best, that particular trade should be considered a wash. The other trades, however, have been wonderful for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The biggest one in recent memory was the decision to exchange a late first-round pick for Frank Clark. Despite a slow start to the 2019-2020 season, Clark made some of the most important plays in Chiefs playoff history, essentially ending the seasons of the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers with game-ending sacks. It was obvious that Kansas City was going to need some pass-rushing production from the EDGE position and Veach made an offer that Seattle couldn’t refuse. Clark was a force in the 2019-2020 season and with an offseason of recovery, I expect him to be even more dominant next season.
Clark may be one of the best defensive players for the Chiefs, but Veach has added incredible pieces through the art of the trade. Kendall Fuller, the former and now current Washington slot cornerback was added in a trade for Alex Smith. Charvarius Ward was brought in for a backup offensive lineman. Reggie Ragland was acquired for a 4th round pick. Cam Erving, who has been the Chiefs swing tackle, was brought in for a 5th. Jordan Lucas was a key contributor on the struggling defense of 2018 and was acquired for a 7th round pick. Last season, Veach exchanged Eric Murray for Emmanuel Ogbah, who was dominant until he tore a pectoral muscle, which ended his season.
Needless to say, Veach has been a trade machine. Whether it is due to playing a lot of Madden, or just constantly making inquiries, Veach knows how to make a deal. While many of them are not ones that the media goes crazy over, they have been incredibly good fits for the Chiefs. I expect more of the same in the future.
Future moves:
As one of the NFL’s youngest general managers, it is clear that Veach represents a new way of thinking when it comes to trading. I wouldn’t expect anything to be off the table this season. Whether it be Chris Jones, Eric Fisher, Sammy Watkins, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Daniel Sorensen, or none of the above, I am confident that Veach will turn a trade at some point this season.
Potential trade targets for Brett Veach are (but not limited to) Lions cornerback Darius Slay, Jets running back Le’Veon Bell, 49ers wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, or Washington’s offensive tackle Trent Williams. That being said, I would expect this season’s potential trades to be more under-the-radar. With the aggressiveness of Veach, however, anything is possible.