Brett Veach keeps emphasizing Joe Thuney’s ability to play center

It’s not that Chiefs Kingdom was unaware of Joe Thuney‘s versatility. That much was clear looking back at his tenure with the New England Patriots, before the Kansas City Chiefs had ever signed the high-ticket offensive lineman in free agency back in March. Instead, it’s how much general manager Brett Veach was emphasizing this specific part of Thuney’s skill set at a recent press conference with Chiefs reporters this week.

To set up the scenario, Veach spoke with reporters in his pre-draft presser earlier this week like every general manager will do. However, it was also the first time that Veach had spoken with reporters since the start of free agency, which meant that reporters were also getting the first chance to fire questions about signings like defensive tackle Jarran Reed or offensive lineman Kyle Long.

Early in the presser, ESPN’s Adam Teicher asked Veach for comment on the biggest signings, namely Long, Reed, Thuney, and center Austin Blythe. Here’s part of the transcript from Veach’s remarks on Thuney: “I think his ability to play either guard position and center position at a Pro Bowl level was something that was really enticing for us … We were certainly excited to add him and know that we have depth at any three of those positions and know we’ll get a Pro Bowl caliber player at those positions.”

From there, Veach moved on to speak about Reed and then Blythe and that’s when he eerily kept coming back to Thuney’s versatility once again, especially at center. “Austin Blythe was a guy that started a lot of games for L.A and we wanna continue to put an emphasis on depth on our roster. Now you have the ability, depending on what you do in the draft or where we go forward at the tackle position, certainly Thuney can play left or right guard. Having Austin allows him to do that. If we wanted to, Thuney can play center, depending on how the draft goes.”

What should we make of Brett Veach’s emphasis on Joe Thuney’s versatility?

On the surface, it could be exciting for Veach to emphasize the versatility for the Chiefs up front and that they are heading into the draft without a need to reach for along the offensive interior. Perhaps that’s true, but watching the presser, you also notice things like a smirk and a pause as he measures his words while discussing the emphasis on depth. (See it for yourself at the 9:15 mark in this video.)

In short, it also seems like the Chiefs are excited to add another young prospect to the interior, and that if that player is a guard, then Thuney might have the option of moving to center for the coming season. At the very least, the portion discussing Austin Blythe doesn’t sound like a major support for Blythe as a likely starter. Of course, no one likely suspected Austin Reiter to be a two-year starter at the position either, so who knows what will happen here. It is true that Blythe would likely start at center if the season began today.

Just a year ago, Thuney played a couple games at center for the Patriots due to David Andrews’ injury, showing off an impressive versatility that only served to bolster his value. While it’s a nice anecdote, it’s interesting to see that it’s something Veach is emphasizing a bit more than he has to. It’s all subject to interpretation, of course, and perhaps there’s nothing to make of it all. But it certainly seems like something more is coming along the interior and that Thuney’s versatility might be a part of the organizational puzzle.