The Kansas City Chiefs have given Dave Toub a real gift in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft with the selection of Jeffrey Bassa, a linebacker out of Oregon.
Bassa was the Chiefs' official pick at No. 156 overall on day three of the draft.
The Chiefs offered up the first of their three seventh-round picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 226 overall) in order to move up eight slots to No. 156 from 164—the original pick they received from the Philadelphia Eagles for sliding back one slot in the first round.
Kansas City moves up in the fifth round to grab versatile linebacker and special teams standout Jeffrey Bassa.
Bassa comes to the NFL with loads of special teams experience for the Ducks, but his value goes far beyond that for the Chiefs defense. He's an impressive coverage linebacker for a unit with players who play much better in the box yet he still has decent size.
The addition of Bassa gives Steve Spagnuolo some versatility on sub-packages of how they want to deploy him given his profile as a linebacker/safety hybrid. Bassa started his first season at Oregon at safety before transitioning to linebacker for the last three years.
The Chiefs will be watching a competition between Bassa, Blake Lynch, Cole Christiansen, Jack Cochrane, and Cam Jones for coveted spots on the depth chart behind Leo Chenal, Nick Bolton, and Drue Tranquill.
Bassa had 54 total tackles, 2 forced fumbles, with 1.5 sacks last season. He has 14 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in his career.
With the trade of their top seventh-round choice, Brett Veach now has two more selections scheduled in this draft at No. 251 overall and 257—the final overall pick in the draft.