Ranking Brett Veach’s player trades as Kansas City Chiefs GM
By Jacob Milham
8. The Yasir Durant trade
Chiefs receive: 2022 seventh-round pick
Patriots receive: OL Yasir Durant
Flipping an undrafted free agent into any compensation is a trade win, but Veach trading offensive lineman Yasir Durant has a positive influence on the 2022 Chiefs roster.
Fans liked Durant because of his adequate play and his college ties to Missouri. He played in 11 games for Kansas City his rookie year, including a Week 17 start. Durant’s value comes from his imposing 6’7″, 330-pound frame and his positional versatility, given that he logged snaps at guard and tackle for the Chiefs in 2020. However, even he was not good enough to start on the offensive line during the abysmal Super Bowl performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After Veach overhauled the offensive line ahead of the 2021 season, Durant looked like the odd man out. All the moves and picks addressing the offensive line were made without Durant in the plans. Ultimately, getting a low pick out of Durant instead of cutting him was a good move.
The Patriots sent a 2022 seventh-round pick back to Kansas City, which turned into the 243rd overall pick. The Chiefs selected cornerback Jaylen Watson with that pick, one of the team’s three seventh-round selections in 2022. This trade feels good because Watson has had a strong training camp ahead of his rookie season. His chances of making the 53-man roster seem strong and are certainly better than Durant’s prospects heading into 2021.