KC Chiefs will be loaded for the 2023 NFL Draft

Plenty of ink has already been spilled with regards to the number of draft selections available for the Kansas City Chiefs to use as they see fit in the 2022 NFL Draft.  What’s been glossed over, and understandably so given the size of the event right in front of us all, is that next year should feature more of the same.

General manager Brett Veach is going to be one of the central figures in this year’s draft as the Chiefs have two first-round picks to use on Thursday’s opening round. From there, Veach has two more picks in both the second and third rounds on Friday night and then another six picks on Saturday—two in the fourth and another four in the seventh.

Knowing Veach’s aggressive tendencies in years past, especially with draft assets, Chiefs Kingdom is already expecting Veach to move up early and often with so many selections available to him.

Next year’s draft is considered the better/deeper class and the Chiefs are going to be loaded there—perhaps even more so.

What makes all of this even more interesting, however, is knownig that Veach has a similar stockpile of picks to make next year as well, which means there’s a bit of a cushion going forward. Veach has picked exactly six players in each of his first four NFL Drafts and that size of a rookie class makes sense given the Chiefs’ status as contenders. It’s not as if the roster has room for 12 new rookies.

However, this year is going to be different with depth needed across the entire roster. The Chiefs have eigiht picks in the first four rounds this year, but next year, they will have extra picks again in the third, fourth, and sixth rounds from the trade of Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins and the hiring of executive Ryan Poles by the Chicago Bears. Over the next two draft classes, then, the Chiefs should be loaded with young talent on both sides of the ball.

In addition, the Chiefs are already projected to have another 7th round compensatory pick in 2023 with the signing of defensive tackle Jarran Reed by the Green Bay Packers. Another higher-round comp pick will be on the way if a team signs Tyrann Mathieu before the May 10 compensatory deadline.

With all of these picks (and potentially more), Veach knows he has the ammunition to move anywhere he likes. Yet he can also take a chance or two on a player with red flags knowing the draft classes will be larger than normal.

No matter how Veach decides to use his selections, the truth is that all the rhetoric about the Chiefs being big-time players in this year’s draft will be repeated all over again in 2023.