Chiefs: Brett Veach gets proper respect in recent GM rankings
The Kansas City Chiefs have had the luxury of having one of the best front offices in the league in the last five years. A huge reason they have had the success they have had is because of their front office, including the work of General Manager Brett Veach. The Chiefs have won two Super […]
The Kansas City Chiefs have had the luxury of having one of the best front offices in the league in the last five years. A huge reason they have had the success they have had is because of their front office, including the work of General Manager Brett Veach.
The Chiefs have won two Super Bowls in the last four years, and it's mainly due to the way the team has been put together. The front office has consistently figured out ways to put the team in the best position to succeed.
Whether it be through the draft, free agency, or even trade, the Chiefs always find ways to get the most out of their players and work with what they have.
That is a huge reason Brett Veach was ranked second in the recent general manager power rankings.
Veach won a title while re-tooling. He made the correct call to replace a foundational player in Tyreek Hill last offseason with a raft of inexpensive draft picks to build the next five years of Chief's squads. 2022 first-rounders Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis impacted the team's Super Bowl-winning campaign while running back Isiah Pacheco was a revelation as a seventh-rounder. The Chiefs also let corner Charvarius Ward walk last offseason, then got significant contributions from rookies Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams. Extracting cost-effective, excellent production out of the secondary has been part of Veach's secret sauce.
This is all made possible by Patrick Mahomes, but Veach gets credit for drafting Mahomes in 2017 in the first place. Echoing how the Patriots built a dynasty around Tom Brady, Veach hasn't been afraid to say goodbye to big names like Orlando Brown Jr., Eric Fisher, Tyrann Mathieu, and Frank Clark. Veach has filled in the gaps with creative solutions, like trading for receiver Kadarius Toney last season, and forward-thinking picks, like the selection of linebacker Nick Bolton in the second round two years ago. And while Brown, again, is gone, 2021's interior offensive line overhaul (featuring free agent Joe Thuney and drafted players Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith) has aged like fine beef.
They have it spot on. The biggest thing of them all though is that he was the guy who vouched for Mahomes, to take Mahomes and trade up in the draft to be able to take him. That gets overlooked a lot. And when you think about what Mahomes has done since being in the league, it instantly goes back to the guy who brought him here.
The Chiefs are now looked at as a respectable organization around the league because of the things they have done over the last half-decade. Of course, they wouldn't have been able to do those things if it weren't for everything coming right back to the front office and Brett Veach.
Andy Reid brought Veach with him to Kansas City from Philadelphia and made him the general manager. It was one of the best decisions the franchise ever made.
