Brett Veach nailed KC Chiefs’ biggest needs early in 2023 NFL Draft

You can argue whether or not general manager Brett Veach hit it out of the park as far as the players selected, but he did when it came to drafting needs.

Entering the 2023 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs three biggest needs were wide receiver, defensive end, and offensive tackle. You could re-order those how you want, but those were the biggest holes that general manager Brett Veach and Co. needed to fill.

And in the first three rounds, the Chiefs answered the biggest question marks on roster by selecting an edge in round one, a wide receiver in round two, and an offensive tackle in round three.

By selecting Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah at the end of the first round, Kansas City all but cemented the top four of their edge rotation and gave themselves a tenacious pass rusher who should be able to play a lot as a rookie because of his NFL-ready pass-rush repertoire. The Chiefs desperately needed another young pass rusher to add to the room after the departure of Frank Clark and Carlos Dunlap, both of whom played a significant role last year.

By far the biggest concern among fans, however, was the wide receiver position. It was the talk of the offseason after we saw JuJu Smith-Schuster sign with the New England Patriots and Mecole Hardman sign with the New York Jets in free agency. The team didn’t do much to add to the position in free agency, so all eyes were on the draft for Kansas City as far as wide receiver goes.

Selecting SMU’s Rashee Rice, the Chiefs filled that need. There were some mixed reviews among fans about the pick, but Rice appears to have a lot of upside and investing a second round pick means the team thinks pretty highly of him so you can consider the position as being addressed. Odds are, they probably add another pass catcher later in the draft but now there’s not nearly as much pressure to do so because the Chiefs got their guy in round two.

Lastly, the Chiefs shored up the right side of their line by taking Oklahoma’s Wanya Morris. His running mate, Anton Harrison who played on the left side, was a popular candidate being mocked to the Chiefs during the pre-draft process and he overshadowed Morris a bit as a guy that could end up in Kansas City. Morris’ size and athletic profile is exactly what the Chiefs were looking for as they needed a talented prospect to compete for the starting job at right tackle and battle it out with Lucas Niang.

As you get into the later rounds, finding a good tackle that can actually make an impact and especially early is less likely and that’s why the Chiefs moved up to get him in the third round before they lost out. Kansas City played it perfectly and got former five-star recruit out of high school with all the potential to become a good NFL offensive tackle.

You can argue whether or not Veach hit it out of the park as far as the players selected, but he did so when it came to drafting needs. He drafted three players at the three biggest areas of concern with players who can realistically be expected to contribute next year.

Now, with five picks in the last four rounds and the biggest needs filled, Veach can do pretty much whatever he wants. Yes, there are some secondary needs like defensive tackle or running back, but for the most part the Chiefs are playing with house money and can aim for best player available at each pick.

Day three should be plenty exciting as this is where Veach has thrived in past drafts, picking up several contributors in the late rounds in the last few years.