The 2025 NFL Draft is just around the corner, which means the internet is ablaze with buzz, rumors, and pre-draft intel. 

The Kansas City Chiefs hold the No. 31 overall pick in the first round, potentially binding them to the decisions of 30 other NFL teams before they come on the clock. They still have plenty of needs on the 90-man offseason roster with 16 spaces left up for grabs. How things play out in the early and middle parts of the first round, which players fly off the draft board and those that drop, will define Brett Veach's path in the draft. 

With that in mind, let's cut through some of the fat on the latest rumors to find out what's real and fake for the Chiefs ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft. 

---

Are the Chiefs eyeing a trade-up in the first round? 

A trade-up in the first round for the Chiefs would be perhaps the least surprising thing. Even Brett Veach joked during his pre-draft press conference that he's been more prone to trading up for a guy he and his staff really like than trading down to acquire draft capital.

ESPN's Matt Miller recently made waves with the following report on what he'd been hearing about the Chiefs' plans. 

"I've heard the Kansas City Chiefs are actively looking to trade up in Round 1," Miller wrote. "They signed left tackle Jaylon Moore in free agency but were otherwise quiet, opting to re-sign their own versus hitting the open market. A move up in Round 1 would likely be for a long-term offensive tackle solution; I heard the goal would be to move in front of the Houston Texans (No. 25) and the Los Angeles Rams (No. 26)." 

This report is a tad misleading. While the team has done its homework on several teams that might be willing to do business in Round 1, they're not actively seeking to make a trade. That'd suggest they'd want to move up before Thursday. I'm told that's not the case. Veach will want to see how things play out on draft day before pulling the trigger. Veach admitted that the team would again consider a trade-up, but there were a few qualifiers. 

Those qualifiers were two-fold: 

1. It needs to be a Trent McDuffie-like situation, where a player that they don't expect to be available is available. That could be a lot more difficult with only 12-13 first-round grades this year, whereas most years they have 15-18 first-round grades. 

2. The cost of the trade-up needs to be reasonable. It sounds as if they want to make at least eight picks in this draft: "Trading multiple picks just to get one piece doesn't really make sense."

So, no, the Chiefs aren't eyeing a trade-up in the first round. They are preparing for the possibility and staying ready should the opportunity present itself, but they're not holding their breath. 

---

What's going on with Ohio State LT Josh Simmons' knee and rumored character concerns?

There have been conflicting reports on Ohio State LT Josh Simmons regarding his knee injury and character.

CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones recently posted a first-round mock draft where Simmons goes No. 13 overall to the Miami Dolphins, which is abnormally high. In that article, he added sourced information about Simmons' knee injury. 

"Multiple sources have indicated Simmons' knee looks great upon medical rechecks, so he passes there," Jones wrote.

This report conflicts with what Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently revealed on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston about Simmons' patella injury after combine medical rechecks. Breer also got into the character questions surrounding Simmons.  

"He had his medical recheck, which I heard was a little sketchy last week in Indianapolis," Breer said. "Plus there's a character issue with him. He's another one of these guys where. . . He's from a rough background, so there's like a life skills question with him. You're going to kind of have to hold his hand a little bit." 

There's little doubt that Simmons would be in contention to be one of the top left tackles selected had he not been injured this season. The concern with this prospect is that if he is healthy and a team is comfortable with his character, things will end up like they do in Jones' mock draft. He'll be long gone by the Chiefs' pick.

If he falls within range for a slight trade-up or even to Kansas City at pick No. 31, does the reward of potentially finding a franchise left tackle outweigh the risks associated with the injury and character?

The Chiefs have done their homework on the prospect, bringing him into the team facility for a top-30 visit. However, that visit could just as easily have him off the draft board as it could have him cleared for selection. They're keeping that part of it very close to the chest as we get closer to Round 1. 

---

Another first-round prospect connected to the Chiefs has a medical red flag

Chiefs GM Brett Veach mentioned last week in his pre-draft press conference that the interior defensive line class is short on the pass-rushing three-technique types. Well, it might be even shorter than initially believed. 

Oregon DT Derrick Harmon, who has often been mocked to Kansas City in the first round, has some rumored medical red flags that the media is now catching up on. According to Cowboys writer and analyst Bryan Broaddus, Harmon is one of the players who could "slide" in Round 1 due to medicals. That could prove to be good or bad news for the Chiefs. 

On one hand, it means that Harmon could be available late in the first round. On the other hand, if he has medical concerns that drop him that far, is he worth the risk? He could be off the board entirely, making it a remarkably slim class at the top. This could put Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen, who has some questions of his own, into DT1 territory for the Chiefs and many other NFL teams. It could also push up some guys like Toledo DT Darius Alexander and Texas A&M DT Shemar Turner. 

Kansas City has shown interest in Harmon, meeting him for a formal interview at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The team did not, however, bring him in for a top-30 visit to do a medical evaluation (as far as we know). 

Kansas City Chiefs’ quest for Super Bowl LX officially kicks off with the start of the offseason workout program on Monday

The first day of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2025 offseason workout program has arrived.