Brett Veach has come a long way since his first act as Chiefs general manager

First steps aren't always pretty—whether physically for a small child or metaphorically as any of us attempt a new endeavor. For Brett Veach, his first steps as general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs were interesting, to say the least, especially given how much he's obviously learned on the job since taking over for John Dorsey back in 2017.

The best example of Veach's growth as a GM can be found in his draft classes. In his first spring as the Chiefs' decision-maker on draft day, he traded up for Breeland Speaks in the second round, swung and missed at the likes of Dorian O'Daniel and Armani Watts, and came away with only Derrick Nnadi as anything meaningful from that first class. Compare that to his last few draft hauls and you realize just how much he's gleaned from experience.

It's even more interesting to go back to what Veach says was his very first act as the team's GM during the summer of 2017. The Chiefs had just negotiated terms on a mutual parting of ways with Dorsey and Veach was announced as his successor. Going into the summer, the Chiefs were looking old in the heart of the defense, and Veach wanted to do something about it.

It's fun to look back at Brett Veach's history and growth curve as the head of the Chiefs front office.

Let's look back at the archives at a press conference in 2018 where Veach answered reporters' questions about the Chiefs' two new free agent signings: wide receiver Sammy Watkins and linebacker Anthony Hitchens.

"When I took over in July, I got with Mike Borgonzi and the first call I made was to Dallas about Anthony Hitchens. We went into last camp and there is only so much you can do once you get to July. It is here. What can you do? There is not a lot of space and rosters are set.

"I knew that Derrick [Johnson] was coming off another injury and just knew that we would have some potential depth issues and some issues up there. We went through all the teams that had linebackers with one year left on their deal. Those are teams that if they haven't reached a deal with their player, they are on their last year so maybe they will move them. You have to resign them and it is always dangerous in free agency.

"So we identified the Christian Kirkseys, the Preston Browns, the Anthony Hitchens. But the first call we made as a new staff was to Dallas, Will McClay, and we wanted Anthony Hitchens, but they said they weren't going to move him."

While Veach wasn't able to secure the services of Hitchens for the 2017 campaign, he did get his man the following spring to the tune of $45 million over 5 seasons. It was the same year the Chiefs allowed Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson to leave and they turned to Reggie Ragland and Hitchens to lead the defense in the second levell.

Fortunately for the Chiefs, there's been more than enough talent on the roster to withstand some of the early misses (or semi-misses) to go on and win a few Super Bowls. Veach is locked in on a dynasty these days and he's got some lessons learned to thank for that.