Brett Veach: Chiefs helped by previous pursuit of JuJu Smith-Schuster
By Matt Conner
Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach recently spoke about what JuJu Smith-Schuster brings to the team’s offense in a special interview with the Arrowhead Addict podcast.
In the end, you can technically say that Brett Veach ended up getting his man—even if it was one year later.
When the Kansas City Chiefs signed JuJu Smith-Schuster earlier this spring in free agency, it was a much-needed move given that the team was ultra-thin at the position after trading Tyreek Hill and watching others leave in free agency—names like Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson. But the signing was a bit more than that; it also felt like it negated some of the negative energy felt when Smith-Schuster had spurned the Chiefs’ advances in order to re-sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers for one more season.
As it turns out, Veach says it was a good thing he went after Smith-Schuster in the first place, even if it didn’t work out in 2021. After all, it allowed both sides to pick up where they left off a year before this spring and now JSS is looking like he could be the next big thing in the team’s high-octane passing game.
Veach, who is the general manager for the Chiefs, sat down with us to talk about Smith-Schuster on the Arrowhead Addict podcast on Wednesday for an exclusive interview. Check out his description of what JSS brings to the offense and then watch the full video below to hear Veach talk about several other subjects.
Patrick Allen (Arrowhead Addict): What are some of the traits that JuJu brings to this offense that made him an attractive free agent target?
Brett Veach: “In the last couple of years, I know it was mentioned when Sammy left and we were looking to fill that position that JuJu was a guy who was a big physical presence. He plays extremely tough inside, so to be able to pair him with a guy like Kelce in the intermediate game is something I think you guys saw when Sammy was healthy, we operate at such a high level. It’s such a big part of what we do with this offense. When we didn’t have Sammy in there at times, I think it showed.
“Last year we tried to get JuJu here and it didn’t work out. I think that drive to get him a couple of years ago ultimately helped us down the line because we were able to pick those conversations up once again.
“Just in general, he’s a reliable target. He’s one of those guys that if you put the ball anywhere in his catch radius, he typically comes down with the football. And then he’s tough to tackle, just being a bigger guy after the catch. You can’t have enough of those guys. He’s done a great job so far and I think the receiving group as a whole, I think it’s been cool to see from where we started in OTAs with a bunch of new pieces and now getting 2-3 weeks into camp, you’re starting to see that chemistry and see Pat get a feel for what each one can do and what their strengths are.”