The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine is underway.
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach spoke with media members on Tuesday. It was the first time we’d heard from either in a few weeks following the Super Bowl LVII win, but this time the focus wasn’t on the big game, it was on the future. Reid provided a key update to his coaching staff, but both he and Veach also spoke about the 2023 NFL draft in April.
Below you’ll find five draft-related takeaways from their chat with the media:
The Brett Veach guide to the draft
Chiefs GM Brett Veach was asked about the team’s approach to the draft. We’ve heard him talk about balancing the best player available and position of need before, but his latest explanation gives you a great idea of how they view things.
“Yeah, we always try to stick to best available,” Veach said. “It’s probably a cookie-cutter line all GMs use. It does become difficult sometimes when you have certain position groups that are really deep because you do think, ‘Maybe he’s a little higher in value but there’s depth in that position so maybe you can get something similar.’ So, it’s just working the board and really trusting your guys at the end of the day.
“You know, handicapping teams and their needs is a big part of that and that’s where our pro department comes into play in this college process, just kind of projecting what other teams will do. But I mean, yeah, you always try to stick to just the best player because it is a game of attrition. You can sit there and think that you’re deep at a position – I remember a few years ago we thought we were really deep at defensive line and within the first three or four weeks we lost three of them. So, you always want to make sure you take the best player.”
This season, the Chiefs were lucky to not have to play that game of attrition in any long-term or detrimental way. We did see it a bit in the middle of the season and late in the season with wide receiver injuries, however.
The Senior Bowl is an important part of the evaluation process
While everyone is focused on the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine at the moment, the Senior Bowl is actually a tool that informs the pre-draft process as well. A lot of the players who were at the Senior Bowl won’t be high on the priority list in terms of formal meetings at the combine, but they won’t soon be forgotten either.
“Yeah, I mean the Senior Bowl is certainly a very high priority list for us in regard to how we go about our process,” Veach told reporters on Tuesday. “You know, (Executive Director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl) Jim Nagy, he’s worked in the league for a long time, and he does a great job of reaching out to GMs, reaching out to scouting directors to make sure that game is run the way that it needs to be. I think if you just look at our roster – Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Noah Gray, Kadarius Toney, the two corners last year – I think if you just looked at our roster, I think it kind of tells the story of how important the Senior Bowl is for us.”
It’s a safe bet that one of the next stars for Kansas City appeared at the Senior Bowl last month.
Combine serves as a jumping off point for coaches
As much time as the front office staff spends on the NFL draft, Andy Reid confirmed that the NFL Scouting Combine is a stepping stone for the coaching staff. That’s especially the case in a season where they were playing in the biggest game on the biggest stage not two weeks ago.
While Reid and the coaching staff have done some prep, this is their first chance to get in front of the new wave of talent coming into the NFL.
“Yeah, it’s your first opportunity to visit with these guys. Which I think is good. People say, ‘Well the answers are canned.’ Well, they’re not. It depends on what you’re asking them and how you maneuver around that and present to them, but you get a little taste of what they’re about. For the coaches, it’s the first opportunity to meet with them and then it goes from there, whether it’s the 30 visits, watching more tape, all that. That’s kind of what this is good for.”
Making a good first impression on Coach Reid at the combine is more purposeful for prospects than you might realize because. . .
Lot's of different information goes into picking a specific player
Brett Veach was asked by Starcade Media about receiver prototypes, specifically as it relates to trading up for Mecole Hardman in 2019 and trading back for Skyy Moore in 2022. Veach said that those decisions weren’t so black-and-white, with a lot of work behind the scenes going into the process that fans don’t necessarily see.
“Yeah, you know the physical attributes in regard to what we’re looking for, good football players and we’re also looking for a room fit, a cultural fit, how they fit with our coaching staff. I mean there are so many things that we take into consideration. Every year when you have these drafts and you see whether it be a mock draft or guys listed on the board, I think people tend to forget that there’s a lot of dialogue. It’s not like, ‘Chiefs like smaller receivers.’ We like good football players, but do they pass the medicals, do they pass the interviews with our coaches, with our offensive coordinator, with our receiver coach, with our head coach, is the chemistry there, do they feel like it’ll be a good blend in our locker room with our current receiving group?
“So, there are a lot of things that factor into it, and you know I think in both of those cases, I think we felt like the fit from the health, medical grades, to how they interviewed with us and how we thought they’d come in and catch on quickly and how we can move them around, things like that. I think we take all that into consideration. And sometimes there are factors – and I’m not saying anything with those two guys – but just as a whole, I think there’s a lot of underlying information that we have to just be accountable for and sometimes they move you in a different direction and you continue to just move on and learn from each experience.”
So, if the Chiefs pass on your favorite player in the 2023 NFL draft, it might be because they didn’t fit certain criteria that the team was looking for.
Andy Reid is excited that the draft is coming to Kansas City
Kansas City feels like it’s at the center of the NFL world right now and that’s not changing this offseason. Fans of the draft will flock to Kansas City for the event in April and Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke about his anticipation for the event.
“You know I think it’s great for Kansas City,” Reid said. “I think it’s great for the National Football League. (General Manager) Brett Veach doesn’t have to go too far, it’s all right there. But listen, I’m mainly happy for the city and for the NFL for bringing it there. It’s a great city.”
Perhaps league perceptions will change about the Paris of the Plains with the upcoming NFL draft. Before you know it, the city could be in line to host a Super Bowl.
