Brett Veach is no stranger to the preseason trade. Since he took over the reins from John Dorsey as the general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs in the summer of 2017, Veach has imported nine different players to bolster the roster in the days before active roster cuts were due.
This year, Veach has already added an old friend in defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, and more moves could be on the way. We decided to look back and rank Veach's preseason trades that brought a player to Kansas City since he took over as GM. Other deals have sent talent packing—from Ihmir Smith-Marsette to Yasir Durant—but we're only judging the acquisitions here.
Here's a ranking of Veach's preseason acquisitions via trade since 2017.
9. The Cam Thomas trade
Two of the three worst deals in terms of impact and return came in the last 12 months, but the Cam Thomas deal is undoubtedly the worst of them all.
Thomas joined the Chiefs from the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, which turned into safety Kitan Crawford from Nevada. Thomas was languishing on the Cardinals' bench as a former third-round selection (2022), and Veach took a shot on a depreciated asset.
It was a smart move on paper, since the Chiefs were thin while waiting for Charles Omenihu to get healthy. However, Thomas was largely a healthy scratch for most of the season before being waived by late November.
8. The Neil Farrell trade
One year before trading for Cam Thomas, Veach tried to aid the defensive interior by trading for Neil Ferrell in a rare intra-divisional deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. The cost was a sixth-round choice in 2024 that turned out to be running back Dylan Laube.
Again, it was a worthy experiment knowing Ferrell had a lot of time left on a rookie deal as a former fourth-round choice in 2022, but the former LSU lineman would play sparingly in 4 games without a lick of impact to show for it.
7. The Peyton Hendershot trade
The other preseason deal from a year ago brought in tight end Peyton Hendershot from the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a conditional 7th-round choice. Hendershot's addition was a slight surprise given that the team already had three tight ends, including rookie draft choice Jared Wiley, and had also cut veteran Irv Smith before making the deal.
Hendershot would play minimal reps on offense in 7 games and was primarily a core performer on special teams before hitting injured reserve. Hendershot remains a free agent at the present time.
6. The Martinas Rankin trade
In 2019, Veach flipped running back Carlos Hyde to the Houston Texans for a promising young lineman, Martinas Rankin. The Chiefs were confident in a backfield anchored by Darrel Williams and Damien Williams and let Hyde go for some versatile help up front.
Rankin became an early starter at guard for the Chiefs, but a lengthy injury history caught up with him in Kansas City and he was shelved for the year after sliding outside to play in Mitchell Schwartz's spot at right tackle. Rankin would return the next year but never earned playing time despite the Chiefs needing considerable help. The Chiefs would part ways with Rankin after two seasons.
5. The Kevin Pierre-Louis trade
Veach's first-ever trade as a general manager was a player-for-player swap of linebackers with the Seattle Seahawks. D.J. Alexander went to the Pacific Northwest, while Kevin Pierre-Louis landed in K.C.
While Pierre-Louis played just one year in Kansas City, he was a valuable backup in the second level while contributing as a special teams player in 14 games. He also forced a fumble in the postseason that year. The Chiefs lost him in free agency the following spring when he signed a two-year contract with the Jets.
4. The Jordan Lucas trade
The Chiefs dealt a 2020 seventh-round choice to draft a special teams ace from the Miami Dolphins before the 2018 season. Jordan Lucas would go on to provide even more value for the Chiefs than anyone could have expected from such a low-level deal.
Lucas started the only games of his career with the Chiefs in 2018, with four starts in 16 appearances for Bob Sutton's defense. Lucas put up 32 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 interception that year for the Chiefs, before being relegated to special teams alone in 2019 as the Chiefs imported Juan Thornhill and Tyrann Mathieu to remake the secondary.
3. The Reggie Ragland trade
Veach took some bigger swings in his first summer, including a trade for former second-round linebacker Reggie Ragland in a trade with the Buffalo Bills. Veach sent a future fourth-round choice for the last three seasons of Ragland's rookie deal in the hopes he'd become a tackling machine for the Chiefs' defense.
While Ragland would never justify the high cost paid by the Bills to get him, Veach got 32 starts and 42 games out of a day three pick before allowing Ragland to sign with the Detroit Lions in 2020.
2. The Cam Erving trade
Along with the Ragland deal, Veach also made another big trade that summer by sending a future fifth-round choice to the Cleveland Browns for Cam Erving. The Browns were big sellers this offseason, and the Chiefs took a flyer on a former first-round pick with serious versatility across most of the offensive line.
Erving would play inside and outside on the left side for the Chiefs over the next three seasons. Again, Erving would never live up to his first-round status, but the Chiefs certainly got great value on such a late choice. Erving became a valuable spot starter, and Andy Reid apparently likes having him around, because he was even hanging around this summer as a coaching assistant.
1. The Charvarius Ward trade
There's a good reason why Veach tries to swing at fringe prospects. Sometimes it actually pays significant dividends.
Charvarius Ward is, by far, the greatest player Veach has ever acquired, having fleeced the Dallas Cowboys before the 2018 season by sending them offensive lineman Parker Ehinger in exchange for the former rookie free agent cornerback.
Ward went from a long shot from Middle Tennessee State to a long-term, above-average starting corner on the boundary for the Chiefs for four seasons. The only reason he left the Chiefs is that the San Francisco 49ers offered him generational wealth in free agency.
This spring, Ward earned major money on a third NFL contract, which is an even more impressive feat when he signed a three-year, $54M deal with the Indianapolis Colts.