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KC Chiefs: A full history of Brett Veach’s reclamation attempts

By Lucas Strozinsky

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 14: Josh Gordon #19 of the Kansas City Chiefs warms up prior to a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on November 14, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 14: Josh Gordon #19 of the Kansas City Chiefs warms up prior to a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on November 14, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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Kansas City Chiefs inside linebacker Reggie Ragland (59) . Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas City Chiefs inside linebacker Reggie Ragland (59) . Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /

LINEBACKERS

Reggie Ragland

Reggie Ragland is a player who had a non-traditional start to his career. Prior to the 2016 NFL Draft, Ragland was projected to be a first-round selection by many experts but fell to the second round, presumably due to an enlarged aorta that was not expected to impact his football career at the time. To make matters worse, he tore his ACL prior to his rookie season and was on injured reserve that entire season. Due to a change in Buffalo’s coaching staff—and not being a great fit in Leslie Frazier’s defensive scheme—the Bills traded him to the Chiefs in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Ragland is perhaps the most successful reclamation project in the Veach era for the Chiefs. He played over1,300 snaps across three seasons in Kansas City, totaling 148 total tackles and 2 interceptions. 2017 was his best season as he recorded a well above average PFF overall defensive grade ($) of 76.0. Ragland would go on to leave the Chiefs for Detroit after winning Super Bowl LIV.

Though Ragland’s stint in Kansas City wasn’t the longest or most successful compared to the overall roster, he had the longest tenure of any player considered a “reclamation project.”

Darron Lee

This is another example of a low-risk, high-reward move for Brett Veach that didn’t quite work out. After being a first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Lee was expected to be the captain of the New York Jets defense for a long time. Lee didn’t see much success in the Big Apple, and after three relatively disappointing seasons, the Jets traded him to the Chiefs for a 2020 sixth-round pick in May of 2019.

Despite paying next to nothing for Lee, this trade did not pay off for Brett Veach and Steve Spagnuolo. During the 2019 season, Lee only appeared in 9 games and earned a pitiful PFF defensive grade ($) of 36.3 that season. After winning Super Bowl LIV with the Chiefs (not appearing in any postseason games that year), Lee signed with the Bills in November of 2020 and then the Raiders in the summer of 2021. He has not appeared in an NFL game since Week 16 of the 2019 season.

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