Brett Veach has already shown a veteran savvy in his decision making as Chiefs GM.
Less than a month after firing veteran general manager John Dorsey, Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and head coach Andy Reid made the decision to replace him with the in-house promotion of young personnel exec Brett Veach on July 10, 2017. Thus, making him the seventh general manager in team history and the youngest person to hold the title in the NFL at the time (and still today, at the age of 41).
Since that time, Veach, a former scout and personnel analyst, has quickly ascended the power rankings of general managers, having created a Super Bowl Championship roster and put Kansas City in a position to be the next great dynasty in the NFL.
In the past three years, Veach has overseen scores of transactions including 18 draft picks, innumerable cuts and signings, and multiple trades involving players and picks. While some of those transactions did not pay off, and others remain uncertain in their outcome, many of the moves he’s made have bettered the roster and helped propel the team to its Super Bowl title.
Among those transactions that are still to be determined, primarily, include Veach’s draft picks. While there is great hope for many of them, it is simply too early to make the call on how effective many of them will be. But it is not too early to talk about the moves which have paid off in a big way for the Chiefs yet remain under-discussed in the mainstream narrative.
So which moves has Brett Veach orchestrated for which he has not received ample credit?
Most people are quite familiar with the Chiefs’ lore which indicates that it was Veach who, as the co-director of player personnel, “pounded-the-table” for the Chiefs to move up and select now-star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. To what degree that is true or untrue remains a deeply-shrouded mystery and hotly-contested narrative throughout Chiefs Kingdom and the NFL.
However, what is not debatable is that when Veach made the decision to trade veteran incumbent starter Alex Smith following his first season as general manager. By fully committing to Mahomes after just one career start during his rookie season, he was making a massively bold decision that altered the fate of the franchise quickly and decisively.
It was bold not only because the young Texas Tech quarterback was an unproven, if not unknown, commodity. It was also a risk because Smith had been a good quarterback for Kansas City, winning 67 percent of his games over five seasons with the team.
Two years later and the gamble has proven to pay off exponentially. Not only was Veach’s intuition about Mahomes dead-on, but what he was able to get in return for the team’s long-time starter also paid off massively. For Smith, Veach was able to acquire a starting cornerback who started for a Super Bowl Champion defense. While Kendall Fuller only spent two years with the Chiefs (and is now, ironically, back with Washington), his impact and versatility was undeniable in helping to secure the Lombardi Trophy.
If that were the only trade return, it may be underwhelming for a quarterback of Smith’s caliber (though still the right move, and still a good move). However, Veach also received a third round pick in the deal. That pick turned into the 75th overall selection in the 2018 draft, and with it the general manager selected Florida State defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi. Nnadi has since played in every game since joining the roster, including starting 27 of 32 regular season games and all five of the team’s playoff games.
This was a home run for Kansas City and Veach, and as his first major move as the general manager, deserves significant praise.
Charvarius Ward joined the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2018 NFL Draft. Prior to ever playing a snap as a Cowboy cornerback, Dallas decided to trade Ward to the Kansas City Chiefs for third year offensive lineman Parker Ehinger. A 2016 fourth round pick by the Chiefs, Ehinger saw the field in only six games over his two season in Kansas City and appeared destined to be cut prior to the start of the 2018 season.
In what has become a bit of a calling card for Brett Veach, instead of cutting Ehinger, he was able to secure an asset in return. And what an asset Ward has turned out to be.
Since joining the Chiefs, Ward has started 18 of 32 regular season games, four of five playoff games, and played in all but three contests for Kansas City. He was Kansas City’s top outside corner in 2019, helping the team to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years.
Meanwhile, Ehinger never played a down for Dallas, or for any team in 2018. In 2019 he did manage to play in two games for the Baltimore Ravens. Despite those appearances, Ehinger is clearly not on the same level as Ward in terms of production and ability.
Ward appears destined to earn a handsome salary on his eventual second contact. Ehinger seems likely to fight to further his career. This, too, was a home run for Veach. And, while most have praised the acquisition of Ward, the total context of the trade makes it a super-trade, and one that Veach deserves far more credit for pulling off.
Not every great move Veach has made has been a trade, though. In October of 2019, desperately needing answers to help stop the bleeding in a porous run-defense, Veach went to the veteran free agent grab bag and came out with long-time NFL defensive lineman Mike Pennel.
Paying pennies-on-the-dollar for the mid-season acquisition, Veach essentially stole Pennel given the contributions the 2014 undrafted free agent contributed to the Super Bowl run for the Chiefs. The former Green Bay Packer defensive end stepped in to Kansas City as a tackle and, despite playing a new position, was a key cog in the leaky unit that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was putting on the field through the first half of the season.
While Pennel did not start any regular season games, the team did call on him to start in their first two playoff games, and even when he was not starting Pennel was an effective contributor for the run defense.
And the magic does not stop there, as Veach was able to re-sign Pennel for the 2020 season and did so for a contract of under $1 million. If Pennel once again plays 30 percent of the snaps for the Kansas City defense in 2020, that price tag will be a bargain for Kansas City.
The Chiefs were lucky to get him in 2019, lucky he adjusted to a new position seamlessly, and are lucky to have him back in 2020. This continues to be a great move for Brett Veach and the Chiefs.
In 2018, Veach made the decision to offer a contract to Miami Dolphin free agent running back Damien Williams. Signed to a one year deal for under $800,000, but the end of December Williams had already shown enough to the coaching staff and Veach to merit a two year extension before he ever hit free agency again.
For sure, signing Williams has been an important addition to the Kansas City offense. Williams was a star in Super Bowl LIV and has a strong case to make that he should have been the MVP of the game after earning 133 total yards and two touchdowns, including his run to immortality to seal the game, on the biggest stage in the world.
What makes this roster transaction even more important in the context of the current roster and Chiefs team construction is what the contract is. Williams’ extension nets him only $2.5 million in average yearly base, which ranks 28th in the National Football League. For the Super Bowl Champions to have their starting running back returning for one of the league’s best offenses for such a paltry amount is a steal – and has given the team the necessary flexibility to retain so much of its championship roster.
Veach is well-known as a bit of a wheeling and dealing risk-taker. But, signing and then extending Damien Williams was a safe, smart move that has allowed the team to remain adaptable to its current environments. This was a savvy move for Veach, and one he deserves far more praise for.
Veach’s biggest trade of the 2019 offseason occurred when he sent safety Eric Murray to the Cleveland Browns for defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah. Ogbah was a second round pick of the Browns (32nd overall) in the 2016 draft, but had underperformed relative to his draft status and quickly fallen out of favor with the team, netting only 12.5 sacks in three years.
The Chiefs, too, had a disappointing 2016 draft pick that it was no longer interested in keeping around in fourth round pick Eric Murray. The Chiefs felt they had safety options in the draft (and eventually took Juan Thornill) , coupled with returning starter Daniel Sorenson and free agent acquisition Tyrann Mathieu, were ready to move on from the former University of Minnesota defensive back.
Ogbah experienced a bit of a sweet spot in serving as a rotational pass-rusher for Kansas City in Spagnuolo’s defensive front. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy tallied 5.5 sacks in 10 games for Kansas City in 2019, and was an important contributor to the defensive unit as a whole.
Unfortunately, Ogbah suffered a season ending injury and was unable to compete for the Chiefs down the stretch, and has since signed with the Miami Dolphins as an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Despite only playing 10 games, Ogbah proved to be a great move for the Chiefs, and for Veach, for which we have not given him enough credit for pulling off.