Chiefs 7-round 2025 NFL Mock Draft: Combine inspires Brett Veach to build up trenches, find KC's next great running back
The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine is in the books, bringing us one step closer to the 2025 NFL draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24.The Kansas City Chiefs have a lot of work to get done over the next 10 days, mainly getting themselves to salary cap compliance with RG Trey Smith's franchise tag […]
The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine is in the books, bringing us one step closer to the 2025 NFL draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a lot of work to get done over the next 10 days, mainly getting themselves to salary cap compliance with RG Trey Smith's franchise tag taking up $23.4M in cap space. They've got plenty of pending free agents set for the 2025 NFL season, and at this juncture, it's clear that many of those players will reach free agency.
This means Brett Veach will have a challenging road ahead in the 2025 NFL draft. He will face numerous roster needs for the 2025 NFL season and beyond. Here's how our mock draft has changed from after Super Bowl LIX to the end of the combine. . .
31. Arkansas EDGE Landon Jackson
Teams will doubt Jackson's outstanding performance (95th percentile A to Z Sports Athletic Composite, 90th percentile speed score, and 99th percentile burst score) at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine and how it translates on film due to his lack of productivity at Arkansas. Over the past two seasons, he has had 93 total tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, and four passes batted for the Hogs. At 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds, he's the versatile body type that Steve Spagnuolo goes for. He can reduce and play 4i and three-technique on passing downs, and would make a lot of sense should Charles Omenihu walk in free agency.
63. NC State OT Anthony Belton
Guys like Missouri's Armand Membou, Oregon's Josh Conerly Jr., and Minnesota's Aireontae Ersery had a good enough performance at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine that it's not a given that any of them make it into range for a trade-up, let alone to the Chiefs' pick at the end of the first round. That'll leave K.C. shopping for a left tackle prospect in the second round. . . again. Belton had a solid performance at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine and already has a visit set up with the Chiefs. His body type and playstyle remind me of former Eagles LT Jason Peters, who Brett Veach and Andy Reid brought to Philly in 2009.
He doesn't quite meet the Chiefs' preferred arm-length threshold in tackles, but he's closer than most in this class at 33.625 inches.
66. Kansas State RB DJ Giddens
This is a deep running back class, but I also think Giddens is hilariously undervalued for a back that put up back-to-back seasons with over 1,200 rushing yards. Weighing in at 6 feet and 212 pounds, he put up an 83rd percentile A to Z Sports Athletic Composite, an 86th speed score, and a 97th percentile burst score during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. He has a slashing running style but plays with great patience and contact balance. He's got some profound big-play ability with 25 runs of 15 or more yards in 2024. He's also a very willing pass-blocker and caught 50 passes for 581 yards and four touchdowns over the past two seasons.
95. Oklahoma State LB Nick Martin
Should Bolton walk in free agency, the Chiefs will almost certainly turn to the draft and grab a linebacker prospect at some point. At 5-foot-11 and 221 pounds, Martin compares favorably to Bolton from a size standpoint, but he's much more explosive as an athlete with a 38-inch vertical jump, a 123-inch broad jump, and a 1.54s 10-yard split. He's one of the few people who can say the sentence, "I've caught Xavier Worthy from behind."
He could also play all three linebacker spots for Kansas City and fulfill a multiphase role on special teams.
132. Louisville DT Thor Griffith
Griffith was, in my humble opinion, one of the biggest 2025 NFL Scouting Combine snubs. A former Harvard standout, Griffith transferred to Louisville this year and didn't disappoint. In 13 games, Griffith had 21 combined tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks, and a forced fumble. He has a career pass-rush win rate of practically 10% and a run-stop rate of 8.2%. If the Chiefs don't land a defensive tackle early, Griffith is someone they can target at the start of Day 3 and depend on early on in his NFL career.
256. Delaware RB/WR Marcus Yarns
The Chiefs have a whole lot of connections to the University of Delaware, including OC Matt Nagy (former quarterback), GM Brett Veach (former wide receiver), and passing game coordinator Joe Bleymaier (former wide receiver). Yarns was one of the few running backs asked to go through wide receiver drills at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, and with his 5-foot-11 and 193-pound frame, I think that position might be best suited for him. During his career at UD, he caught 64 passes for 812 yards and 11 touchdowns over four seasons.