Trading up for a big-time rookie
How many of you think that Brett Veach is going to meet up with Patrick Mahomes at some point this offseason and say, “Hey, we’re just going to be staying put at No. 31 overall and seeing what we can get there to protect your blind side?” Yeah, we don’t either.
If the Chiefs are going to usher in a youth movement at tackle, at least on one side, then you move up. Just last year, the Chiefs traded two extra picks to the New England Patriots to move up from No. 29 to 21 and grab Trent McDuffie. This year, the Chiefs could plan the same and work the phones ahead of time knowing the cost of sliding into various draft spots along the way.
Can Veach reach high enough for a Peter Skoronski from Northwestern or a Paris Johnson from Ohio State? It might be more reasonable to trade up and secure Anton Harrison. Where will Broderick Jones go? Or what about this year’s copy of Orlando Brown Jr.: Dawand Jones out of Ohio State? Some of these guys might just fall to No. 31 but come with concerns.
One reason why the Chiefs might feel reticent to do this is because of their own recent history here. Lucas Niang was a nice prospect at the time, but years later, the Chiefs are still wondering what his ceiling might be after injury-plagued seasons. Also a torn patellar is a killer injury from which to return. Darian Kinnard was a project coming in, but after a year, there’s no more clarity than before.
Those situations are obviously different than grabbing a first-rounder at a clear point of need, but it’s part of the overall context and cannot be ignored.
Why they wouldn’t do this: Who wants to roll into the NFL Draft with a glaring need that every other team knows about at one of the three most important positions on the roster?