What will the Kansas City Chiefs 2024 draft class cost in cap space?

Don't look now but the Kansas City Chiefs have a bit of salary cap space.

Normally at this time of year, we're used to seeing budget deals and/or scenarios in which the Chiefs are outbid for veteran players due to the fact that the front office is limited by cap space. Such is life as a dynasty team with expensive stars to pay and so much emerging talent to potentially extend.

This spring, however, the Chiefs made the decision—for better or worse—to trade away cornerback L'Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans after using the franchise tag on him. Once freed from his contract, the deal brought quite a bit of space back for Kansas City with which they can bolster other spots on the roster and stay flexible going into the season. At present, the Chiefs have $19.3 million in cap space, per Over the Cap.

Let's look at how much cap space the Chiefs will need to set aside for their current cadre of 2024 NFL Draft picks.

One such reason to keep several million dollars set aside is for this year's draft class. Every team has to make sure to set aside a certain amount for players who will land slotted deals already negotiated by the league's collective bargaining agreement. And while that talent is cheap and cost-controlled, it still requires each team to make sure they're compliant financially.

So how much will the Chiefs' draft class cost them in 2024? It's impossible to say ahead of time with any certainty because general manager Brett Veach likes to move around quite a bit in the draft order—even in the first round. It's there that the dollar amounts can change significantly, especially if Veach decides to move up.

However, if Veach stays put at each of his seven draft slots, the Chiefs will need to save about $8 million total in preparation for the late April event. Here's the rundown on cap space per pick:

• Round 1 (No. 32 overall) - $2.21 million
• Round 2 (No. 64) - $1.51M
• Round 3 (No. 95) - $1.02M
• Round 4 (No. 131) - $958K
• Round 5 (No. 159) - $873K
• Round 5 (No. 173) - $857K
• Round 7 (No. 221) - $825K

Those seven draft picks come together for an approximate cap hit as a group of $8.25 million, give or take. The Chiefs might end up making some moves to radically alter these numbers, but as of now, there's at least a bit of wiggle room to make something work for another veteran signing or two and still retain in-season flexibility.