Neil Farrell trade is another feather in Brett Veach's cap

In an effort to bolster the defensive line, the Chiefs traded a sixth-round draft pick to the division-rival Las Vegas Raiders for Neil Farrell Jr. 

Farrell is a 25-year-old going into his second year in the league after being drafted in the fourth round by the Silver and Black in the 2022 NFL Draft. He appeared in nine games of his rookie season, tallying 12 total tackles, including 1 tackle for loss and 2 QB hits. The Chiefs will look for Farrell as a run-stuffing rotational piece on the defensive interior.

Farrel has always been a massive lineman. This has been the case since he was rated Alabama's number one high school defensive tackle.  Farrell committed to the LSU Tigers, where he would stay for five years and win a national championship in 2019. His senior year in 2021 saw him post a career-high in tackles with 45 and QB hurries with 19, along with 2 passes knocked down at the line. His performance earned him an All-American nod from Pro Football Focus and a stellar grade of 89.8. You can do these things when you are the size of a small mountain.

Brett Veach's latest trade gives the Chiefs a massive young tackle along the defensive front.

Farrell would win the award for best defensive lineman at the 2022 Senior Bowl in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama which generated some hype going into the draft. Draft projections for Farrell ranged between a potential second-round pick to a mid-round. The one thing that everyone agreed on was that he is considerably big and considerably strong, especially in the upper body.

Most scouting profiles read the same on Farrell as a gigantic run-stuffer who can knock down some passes who will not give you too much in the sacks department. If this sounds like someone you already know, it is because it is. One of the draft comparisons that Farrell received was for none other than our own Derrick Nnadi.

So now the Chiefs have another mountain of a man in the middle to hold down the run game, while Chris Jones has a staring contest with Brett Veach to go along with Nnadi and Wharton. The difference is that Farrell is a 25-year-old second-year man with three more years of control on him and no injury history. In contrast, Nnadi and Wharton are a bit longer in the tooth and have their own injury concerns.

The Chiefs turned a sixth-round pick into a fourth-round selection from a year earlier and, in so doing, have another young and talented defensive lineman to develop into a potential contributor and maybe even a future starter on defense. This looks like another galaxy-brain deal for Veach as long as Farrell can show out. The talent is certainly there, so the thought I am going to with is that he knows what he is doing. In Veach, We Trust.