The 2025 NFL Draft is officially here. 

After months of film work, preparation, and discourse, we'll soon know who the Kansas City Chiefs are adding to their team from the college football ranks. We know what Brett Veach, Andy Reid, Steve Spagnuolo, and Dave Toub typically like, and the team's 90-man offseason roster needs. There are infinite possibilities, and we won't know how this draft is heading until teams are officially on the clock and making picks.

With that in mind, here's a look at three bold predictions about how Brett Veach will navigate what could be a challenging 2025 NFL Draft.

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The Chiefs won’t trade up in Round 1, but might finally have a chance to trade out of it

I know this is hard to fathom given that Chiefs GM Brett Veach has traded up in the first round in 50% of the drafts where he's had a pick in Round 1. Veach has traditionally been aggressive, but this simply might not be the year when it's feasible, even with an expectation that the cost to move up may be less than in years past. 

If we are to believe Veach's comments about the Chiefs having just 12-13 first-round grades in the 2025 NFL Draft, the likelihood that they'll be able to trade into range to select one of those players is slim. Even with a lack of consensus, the clear-cut top of the draft players like Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter, Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty, and Missouri OT Armand Membou will be long gone. I also believe (based on some pre-draft intel) that guys like Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen and Ohio State LT Josh Simmons will be gone by the time Kansas City is in range to trade up, let alone make their pick at No. 31. 

In his pre-draft press conference, Veach evoked Trent McDuffie when discussing a potential trade-up. Kansas City moved from No. 29 to No. 21 for McDuffie in the 2022 NFL Draft. They never even spoke with him during the pre-draft process because they didn't think he would be available within their pick range. I don't see that type of scenario happening in 2025. The class doesn't have that type of depth at the top. 

This could be a year where Veach can trade back and acquire extra mid-round draft capital. It hasn't been common for Veach to receive calls about the team's first-round pick in recent years, but there's already some buzz that multiple teams atop the draft could look to trade back into the first round to grab a quarterback. 

"In those years that I think a common topic of trading up for the quarterback to get the fifth-year option, I don’t think that’s worked out," Veach said. "Those quarterbacks either didn’t go or went higher, so maybe this is a year that happens, and there’s a team that wants to draft early and get a really good player, and then maybe come up and draft a quarterback and get that fifth-year. I think that scenario – I actually talked about that because every year someone says to me in the draft, ‘We’ll just trade back for a team that wants a quarterback,’ and I’m like that hasn’t happened yet, we’ve been hearing that every year and that hasn’t happened yet so maybe this’ll be the year.

"So, without giving any of my secrets away, I think the only thing that I would say definitively is that we’re not going to draft a quarterback in (round) one, so we’ll certainly have the phones open and we’ll see how that goes."

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Defensive tackle will be prioritized over offensive tackle

People underestimate how many offensive tackles go early in the first round every year. It's one of the most highly sought-after money positions in the NFL, next to quarterback and edge rusher. If things go as I expect, we could see four offensive tackles off the board within the first 15 picks of the draft and as many as seven offensive linemen before the Chiefs even come on the clock.

The Chiefs signed Jaylon Moore with the goal of not being pressed to reach at the position, and I think they'll stay committed to that. If they miss out on an offensive tackle in Round 1, they could come up in Round 2 or Round 3 to grab one when the next run on the offensive tackle position starts.

I believe Kansas City will be more pressed to find players at the defensive tackle position in this class than at the offensive tackle spot. The Chiefs still need depth after losing Derrick Nnadi and Tershawn Wharton in free agency, only adding Jerry Tillery to the position group. Brett Veach's comments on the interior D-line class were not too promising, especially considering they could use that quick, penetrating three-technique type they lost in Wharton. 

Injury concerns (Derrick Harmon & Alfred Collins), maturity questions (Walter Nolen & Shemar Turner), and older prospects (Darius Alexander) characterize this class of interior defensive linemen, and it could make it challenging to find the right piece. If there was any position I could see the Chiefs reach in the first round, it's probably this one because of need and a lack of depth. Maybe it's Tennessee's Omarr Norman-Lott or Ohio State's Tyleik Williams that proves to be the apple of the team's eye. Perhaps they wait until Day 2 and try to trade up to grab a prospect like Joshua Farmer, whom we know they like quite a bit. 

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The Chiefs will draft a running back, but not before Round 3

Yesterday's news of an Andy Reid pre-draft virtual call with Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson shouldn't be a signal flare that the Chiefs are looking to take a running back early. It might prove to be quite the opposite. 

The Chiefs have long-term needs at the running back position, which is widely believed to be the deepest position group in the 2025 NFL Draft. While there are many proponents of investing a high-value pick in the position, I don't get the impression that the team will go that route unless the value and opportunity are too good to pass up. I don't think they'd hesitate to take Ashton Jeanty at pick No. 31, but that's unrealistic.

I expect two to three running backs (Jeanty, Hampton, and Henderson) to be selected in the first round before Kansas City comes on the clock, and I don't envision a scenario where they feel compelled to trade up for a running back. I also think there will be a run on the remaining top-end players at the position (Judkins, Johnson, and Sampson) between pick Nos. 31 and 63. 

The Chiefs have a strong history of finding running back talent in Round 3 or later, with hits like Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, and Jamaal Charles just in the past 16 years. Brett Veach indicated that the running backs they expect to go in the third, fourth, and fifth rounds are all very close in terms of discrepancies, which means there's value to be found there. If you can get a player you view as close to a third-round pick in the fourth or fifth round, you'd do that without hesitation. 

I'd wager they will stick to what has worked in the past and take their chances finding a gem later in the 2025 NFL Draft rather than investing a high-value draft pick. 

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