Brett Veach knows that defensive tackle is a problem.
The Kansas City Chiefs general manager has been consistently tinkering with potential options at a position that's looked thin after Chris Jones for the last few years. One-year flyers on reliable veterans have held up the floor at the position—think Mike Pennel, Derrick Nnadi, Matt Dickerson, and the like—but the team is looking to get younger, if they can.
The downside is that a GM's wishes aren't always granted, which means Veach has been left wanting at various times when a tackle was potentially in reach. He admitted as much in his latest media session with Chiefs reporters, stating that he even missed out on a recent trade due to not having the most enticing bid on a player.
The Chiefs GM talked openly about swinging and missing at a position of need.
Specifically, Veach pointed to former Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Jowon Briggs, a quality player made available by the team's abundance of interior talent. Briggs was dealt to the New York Jets before active roster cuts were due in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round choice. Per Matt Derrick, Veach also offered up the same choice, but the Browns went for the Jets' selection instead.
Veach also went on to say that he remains acBrett Veach opened up about a trade swing-and-miss for a DT upgrade https://arrowheadaddict.com/brett-veach-opens-up-on-painful-miss-for-chiefs-defensive-tackle-help-01k3s3kvaf89
It's intriguing that so many teams thought highly of Briggs given that he was a seventh-round choice just one year ago. In that span of time, he only had 133 snaps in 6 games for the Browns in 2024, but it was enough game tape to convince at least two teams—Chiefs included—that he was worth giving up a pick in an earlier round to get him.
Beaten to the punch by Jets GM Darren Mougey, Veach has turned his attention to processes he can control, which includes signing free agents. He already traded for Derrick Nnadi earlier this month, and most recently, he's added Brodric Martin and Zacch Pickens to the practice squad. The former is a former third-round bust for the Lions, while the latter was the same for the Chicago Bears.
The Chiefs invested a second-round choice in Omarr Norman-Lott in the 2025 NFL Draft, but that did little to aid the team's run defense. Norman-Lott profiles as a lean disruptor who was only a rotational piece at Tennessee. The Chiefs swapped essentially swapped out Pennel for Nnadi, and Veach is now looking for more quality heft up front.
Suffice it to say, Chiefs fans should expect to see their favorite GM throwing pasta at the wall until something sticks as the season goes on. Perhaps the NFL's mid-season trade deadline will yield something more than the castoffs from other teams. As Veach said in his remarks, he's still actively looking for help.
For now, it's clear the Chiefs don't feel all that confident internally about the state of things at defensive tackle.