The dust has finally started to settle following the 2023 NFL draft.
As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to host their incoming draft class and undrafted free agent signings for rookie minicamp, Brett Veach deciphering all the different ways he can continue to build out the offseason roster. The NFL draft is just one step to building an NFL roster, but there are now a few things on the agenda for the coming weeks.
On Monday, Veach had a chance to speak to the media, both recapping the 2023 NFL draft and looking ahead to the future. Here are some of the things that we’re taking away from what Veach had to say:
Trading up was explored to the fullest
We already have quite a few details on the trades that didn’t come to fruition for the Chiefs. Brett Veach provided some more details about the different moves up the draft board that the team was pursuing in the first round and why those went awry.
“Our staff is aggressive, we build our board and believe in our board and if there’s a range we feel makes sense for us, we’ll explore that,” Veach said. “We did that Thursday night and I think there were some opportunities. I think the window from say 18 to 22, 23 was just a little uncomfortable for us because we do believe in our board, but at the same time, we do believe in a volume of good players. And it’s a long season and you have to have depth on both sides. So there are a lot things that you want to get accomplished this weekend. So we explored that and when the price was a little too high for us, we still explored 25, 26, 27, but at that time nobody wanted to trade. We inquired and the price was too high and after that, there were no teams willing to trade. . . we were content because we had a played in Felix (Anudike-Uzomah) that we liked and we were able to do some maneuvering the next couple of days.”
You can’t blame Veach and his staff for staying convicted and deciding against a big move-up in the first round because of the cost. It also takes two to tango and outside of the Bills making a slight move with Jaguars, Veach said they weren’t getting any bites in that 25-27 pick range.
When the Chiefs did trade up, they had good reason
The Chiefs did manage to trade up three times in the 2023 NFL draft. They moved up to 55 for WR Rashee Rice, 92 for OT Wany Morris and 119 for DB Chamarri Conner. Veach explained the thought process behind being aggressive and moving up for your guys vs. standing pat on other occasions.
“Yeah, it’s just identifying the board,” Veach said. “You know, it’s one of those things where we’re spending a ton of time on this board. We’re spending countless numbers of hours and we do that because you know this is the process and when we identify talent we’re able to look at that board and know that alright when we’re in a certain range, we really like this guy and if you look below this guy there’s a big drop off. When we get aggressive it’s because we spend all the time watching these guys and we feel like the drop-off or potentially they’re not – I mean he could be the last guy that we value in regards to a guy coming in and helping us year one.
“So, when you identify that you’ve got to trust your board and trust all the work that you’ve put in. It’s kind of blending the two concepts. On one end yeah, you have to – there is that lotto aspect where you have to throw a bunch of numbers at this but at the same time we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t set the board (and) spend all that time doing the work and if we believe in a guy you can’t risk losing those guys. There’s a handful of guys this past weekend that we were trying to trade up for and it didn’t work out and they went. That’s the way this works. You’ve got to believe in your board, you’ve got to believe in your scouts. You have to do so – you can’t be reckless. You’ve got to take calculated risks. I think you saw that. We took a stab to get up there in Round 1, we couldn’t and so we played it smart. Then when we have windows of guys that we just didn’t think there were like components of or similar value we went ahead and made those moves and then when we were sitting in a position where we felt the competition or the value or I should say the skillset was all similar, we traded out of that one pick and we got a future pick from Dallas so I think it’s blending the volume concept and also the belief in the board and just go and getting guys you like.”
It’s a bit of a balancing act between throwing as many darts as possible, but also staying true to the work, research and effort that has been put into the process. At the end of the day, they’re going to trust the evaluations and work they’ve done that they’re bringing home the best possible players at the best possible value.
The work isn't finished
With free agents signings no longer counting toward the compensatory pick formula beginning tomorrow, Veach could continue to explore adding players to the offseason roster. He knows that the work isn’t finished when it comes to building this roster out and they’ll begin to do some new evaluation once rookie minicamp begins this weekend.
“We’re always trying to improve this roster and we’ll continue to monitor the names that are on the streets,” Veach said. “There will be a handful of guys that have (rookie) minicamp invites and we’ll get a list of those names and you know if we can improve the 90th person on our roster, we’ll do that. That will be no different to how we approach this summer. We’ll get to training camp and we’ll start logging the tape on the preseason games and the position battles there. I feel like we have the roster to compete to win games, but there’s always room to improve and we’ll continue to do that from now until the end of cutdown day.”
The team already appears to be making at least one move in free agency, with the re-signing of RB Jerick McKinnon expected on Tuesday. More could be soon to follow.
There is a lot of excitement about Rashee Rice's skill set
Asked about the Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore and new receiver Rashee Rice, Veach explained what it is that Rice brings to the table that some of the other receivers don’t. It’s clear that the Chiefs envision him as someone who can do some of the things that JuJu Smith-Schuster did for the offense. There also seems to be a sense that he can be a better player than Smith-Schuster was in the YAC game.
“Certainly excited to add Rashee (Rice) to this mix here,” Veach said. “He was a guy that the contested catch and the run after the catch really stood out. And we did lose JuJu (Smith-Schuster), so I do think it makes sense to find a guy who can do some of the same things on the inside game. He’s almost like a running back after the catch.”
One thing that we’ll likely see Rice do that Smith-Schuster didn’t do is some of those designed jet sweeps, end-around plays and orbit motion plays that can utilize his ability after the catch.
No update on Clyde Edwards-Helaire's fifth-year option
Tomorrow is the deadline for the Chiefs to enact the fifth-year option for running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Brett Veach didn’t have any updates to provide there, but he did mention that Edwards-Helaire was already back in the building for Phase 2 of the offseason program.
“With the draft just being over now, that’s another thing that will be addressed here soon,” Veach said. “We’re excited, though, for Clyde this season. Actually, he’s the first guy I saw in the building today. He’s in tremendous shape. He’s a good football player, he’s going to help us out here. We’ve got a list of things to do here with a bunch of these guys and now that the draft has officially ended, in the next couple of weeks, we’ll go through that stuff and start making our plans for the future. We’re excited to have him back in the building today and hopefully, we’ll have a healthy 2023 campaign from him.”
It sounds like there is an expectation that Edwards-Helaire won’t only be with the team in 2023, but will contribute to the team’s depth at the running back position. His status for 2024, however, remains to be seen.
