Gone are the days when Kansas City Chiefs fans could plan to watch the NFL”s annual first-year player draft at a specific point knowing approximately when the team would be making their picks. WIth the 2022 NFL Draft, anything and everything is on the table for general manager Brett Veach, which makes the entire three-day affair a must-watch affair.
This year, the Chiefs possess 12 picks at present, which has them tied for the most overall selections in a draft that is fairly deep and very important. The Chiefs have significant needs in numerous positions, but the good news is that they have two picks in the first four rounds, including six of the top 103 picks. That’s a great way for a team to reload.
However, there are a few factors that make this draft even more compelling for the Chiefs. The team has significant needs along the defensive line, including a need for as proven of a producer as a team can get in a rookie class. That could lead the Chiefs to try to move up. Combined with general manager Brett Veach’s aggressive history, the Chiefs could easily strike much, much earlier than anyone predicts by packaging picks together to climb into the early twenties or even the early teens.
The entire 2022 NFL Draft is going to be a must-watch affair for Kansas City Chiefs fans given that anything is possible for the team.
Beyond that, however, Veach also knows that there’s a sweet spot in this draft class in the middle rounds—that is, the more picks a team can acquire to take players near the bottom of the first round through the draft’s second day might yield the best results. This draft class lacks top-end talent—e.g. no one in this class is called “the best [position] we’ve seen in years”—but there’s solid depth throughout.
While Veach is known for trading up, the truth is that the might be more amendable to maneuver down to pick up an extra asset in this year’s draft or beyond. The Chiefs have an ideal spot in the bottom of the first round, which could lead a quarterback hungry team to trade back up into the first to secure a player who sllips and give them that fifth round option in the future.
Then again, in future rounds, the Chiefs have so many picks in 2022 as well as next year’s draft—in which they already have 10—that Veach is likely to move up in subsequent rounds to take the top value on his draft board. Even without a pick in the fifth or sixth rounds, the Chiefs have four in the seventh, so even on day three, the Chiefs could strike at any time,.
Essentially, we’re saying anything in possible in this year’s draft, which makes for great television but horrible news for wanting to do other things like, say, go get another beer or hit the restroom. Leaving the room at any time will likely have you missing something Chiefs-related in this year’s event.