The Kansas City Chiefs stole the show at the end of the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, executing a savvy trade down with the Philadelphia Eagles team that beat them in Super Bowl LIX. 

The Chiefs sent pick No. 31 to the Eagles for picks Nos. 32 and 164 (fifth round). The Eagles selected Alabama LB Jihaad Campbell, while Kansas City took their target, Ohio State LT Josh Simmons. 

How did the trade come to be? Chiefs GM Brett Veach spoke on the subject after Round 1 concluded.

"At the end of the draft there – obviously, I have a good relationship with (Eagles EVP and General Manager) Howie (Roseman) and (he) does a tremendous job," Veach said. "When you get to these picks late in the draft, and they’re eyeing a particular player, they’re certainly worried about maybe getting jumped by another team. We’ve done trades like this before where we just get to a point where it’s just, ‘Tell me offense or defense, you don’t have to tell me the player.’ Howie mentioned defense and again, we had done similar trades in the past, just tell me the side of football. They got a really good football player in the linebacker from Alabama (Jihaad Campbell) and knew he was good for his word and it made sense for us because obviously, we were going to take Josh there at 31 so it was a win-win for them and we got the guy we wanted there, so that’s kind of how that trade went down.”

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Chiefs' selection of Josh Simmons makes the trade that much better

Even after the team signed Jaylon Moore in free agency, everyone thought the Chiefs needed to get better at the left tackle position. It was their biggest weakness during the 2024 NFL season, costing them dearly in Super Bowl LIX. 

If he were healthy, Simmons is the type of prospect that Kansas City would've had no chance to draft. Brett Veach even suggested that, while unfortunate for Simmons, it was fortuitous that things happened this way so that they had an opportunity to select him. 

It's not just those inside the building who are lauding this selection. Experts around the league praise Simmons's trade and selection as the biggest steal in the 2025 NFL Draft. A to Z Sports' Ryan Roberts and Joe DeLeone weighed in on the A to Z Sports Film Room. 

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"I mean, funny enough, it was the last one, Joe," Roberts said. "Originally sitting at the number 31 overall selection, the Kansas City Chiefs made a trade back. Philadelphia Eagles want to come up one spot to get Jihad Campbell. But we all knew what the position was that the Kansas Chiefs needed most. It was left tackle coming into this season. I mean, there's just not a viable option of a starting left tackle on that roster. But the question was, majorly just speaking, coming into this draft with the run of first-round offensive tackles early in this class, was there gonna be one at 31 and now 32 that could come in and play for the Kansas City Chiefs? And I would argue they found the best one in Ohio State's Josh Simmons. Athletic, great movement skills, he fell due to a little bit of a medical recheck that some people were not overly optimistic about. But clearly, the Chiefs were good enough with the state of that injury and with the state of the future because now I think that they found the best true left tackle in the draft and a guy that can play for them immediately in 2025."

"Yeah, and the funniest part about this is they're rewarded for being patient," DeLeone said. "They get to sit where they are. They get to trade back and then still land with one of the best offensive tackle prospects in the class. And because their team is so good, they can be patient about reworking him into the lineup coming off of his injury. He's so smooth. He's got the best anchor. He was my highest rated tackle in this class, and I think that the reward is going to show up when he is there for ten plus years protecting Patrick Mahomes for a very long time." 

Former players and coaches have also weighed in on the move, hailing it as the biggest steal of the entire draft before the rest of the draft even plays out.

"If you can get this guy, and he can show what he showed on tape, this might be one of the steals of the draft," 12-year NFL veteran AQ Shipley said. 

"Steal of the draft," 11-year NFL veteran Justin Pugh wrote. "Chiefs got them a good one."

“This might be the steal of the whole draft," former Raiders HC Jon Gruden said. "If he's healthy, he's the best tackle in the whole draft the way I see it. This guy's a shutdown left tackle. He has length. He has athleticism. He has nastiness. This guy will plant you. I love this cat. He got hurt, unfortunately, for Ohio State, and missed most of the season. But I'm sure the Chiefs have done a real good job studying his medicals, seeing that he's going to be ready to play."  

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Charles Goldman's verdict on the trade

This has all the makings of an A+ trade for Kansas City. Not only did Brett Veach acquire a pick in a round where he didn't already have one, but he also landed the prospect they had been hoping to draft all along at a major position of need. That extra pick can be used as a trade piece to move up on Day 2, or it could simply give them an extra swing in Day 3. The prospect could be a 10-year starter at perhaps the second-most-important position in football. 

The uncertainty surrounding Simmons' knee injury is the only thing stopping this trade from being an A+. The Chiefs feel good about their work on the injury in the pre-draft process and anticipate that he'll be ready to play by training camp. Ultimately, you don't know until you see the player on the field in action and see that he can stay healthy. For now, I'll cautiously award the trade a B+ and reserve the right to increase that grade after seeing what happens with the fifth-round pick and Simmons in action. 

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