I listened to Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach’s pre-draft press conference on Thursday.
With the NFL draft less than a week away and with the Chiefs holding such a high pick, I was keen to get any insight into what Veach might be thinking, to understand which position or player Kansas City might be most likely to target.
What I heard alarmed me—specifically, what Veach said about offensive tackle.
Of all the positions Kansas City has been linked to at pick nine—edge, wide receiver, safety, cornerback, and offensive tackle—taking an O-lineman is the option I least want to see happen.
So I was concerned by the value the Chiefs’ GM seemed to put on taking a tackle early.
Veach’s comments make tackle feel like a real possibility
“I think there is certainly talent there,” Veach said about the tackles available in this year’s draft. “But I do think that if they [offensive linemen] don't creep into that first eight, nine, ten slots, I think you're going to get a massive run of offensive linemen from 10 to 20 or 25. I think there are numbers there, but once you get to pick, say, 35, those numbers quickly diminish. Then there's a big falloff.
“With offensive line, there's some talent there, but I do think it dries up quickly, and by 35, it could be slim pickings. The offensive tackle position is good in [round] one to early two, and then it kind of thins out there a bit.”
Veach’s comments clearly outline where he sees the best value at offensive line, and it screams that the Chiefs are seriously considering taking a tackle with either pick nine or pick 29. And if that happens, I’ll be the one screaming—and not from happiness.
Other positions should take precedent
I think it would be a huge waste for the Chiefs to take a tackle with the ninth overall pick and an oversight to take one at 29 when they have far more urgent needs at other positions that those picks could be better used on.
The Chiefs are desperate for an edge rusher, they just let most of their starting secondary walk, and I’m not convinced they have a bona fide wide receiver No. 1 on their roster for the future. I hope the Chiefs address all of those needs before turning to tackle, but Veach’s comments have me fearful that they won’t.
Of course, it’s always going to be a good idea to protect Patrick Mahomes at all costs, so bolstering the O-line will never truly be a flat-out mistake, but I just don’t think it’s the right option when this Chiefs team has so many other, bigger holes on their roster.
I’ve groaned at every mock draft I’ve seen that has Kansas City linked to Spencer Fano or any other tackle at nine, but based on what Veach said, maybe those mock drafts will be right. Or maybe they won’t.
Is this real intent or classic pre-draft misdirection?
What if Veach’s comments are a classic case of pre-draft misdirection? Could Kansas City’s GM be trying to trick other teams into thinking the Chiefs are going to zig when really they’re going to zag? If so, he’s clearly fooled me, because here I am writing about how worried I am by what he said.
Maybe Veach is trying to talk up the value of O-linemen in the hopes other teams will trade up ahead of the Chiefs to try and take the best options before they do, only for a player like Caleb Downs or Rueben Bain Jr. to slide down into Kansas City’s lap.
Maybe the hope is that a team like the Dallas Cowboys, which is picking after the Chiefs, won’t trade up to pick seven or eight to take Downs if they think Kansas City will take a tackle instead, only for Veach to swipe Downs (or another player that a different team might be targeting) from under their nose.
I hope this is some sort of misdirection. Because if it’s not, and Veach really is saying that a tackle is going to be one of their top-two targets, then color me concerned.
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