Kansas City Chiefs brass made sure to address immediate needs on defense during night one of the 2022 NFL draft, but the lure of adding a receiver was a top priority in night two.
Chiefs GM Brett Veach made headlines by trading away Pro Bowl receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins last month. Seeking another speedy option in the draft, the Chiefs traded back with the New England Patriots in the second round, acquiring picks No. 158 and No. 54. They used No, 54 it to select Western Michigan WR Skyy Moore. Veach spoke about the risky move and excitement of picking Moore at No. 54.
“There was a pocket of wideouts there we liked, and we had a couple of players really close there,” Veach said. “Going back to tomorrow and having the four and the four sevens, having that big gap, we were just concerned that there would be a lot of value there we didn’t want to miss out on. As the board started to play out and we got closer to our pick, we were in the mindset that if we could get a fifth‐round pick and be active tomorrow in between four and seven, that would be something we’d be interested in.
“But we didn’t want to go down into the 60s,” Veach continued. “It kind of worked out perfectly that we were cool with a small move but nothing crazy, and then it just made sense. It was a nice setup for us to move down four spots, get that fifth‐round pick tomorrow, and then get a guy in Skyy Moore that we obviously probably would have taken there at 50. So, it worked out, and you have to hold your breath there, but they’re going to be begging me to trade back all the time now. That’s the good and the bad thing all at once. But it worked out, and again, we’re really excited about the guys we were able to add tonight.”
The team ultimately used that fifth-round pick to trade up and acquire Darian Kinnard at pick No. 145.
Moore posted 95 receptions for over 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore in 2021. Three receiver picks that went prior to Moore such as Tyquan Thornton, George Pickens, and Alec Pierce were all viable options, but Moore was the target that Veach felt fulfilled the team’s needs best.
“I think we have a combination of size, speed. We spend a ton of time on these wideouts, and we want to obviously do the work and talk about the scheme fit,” said Veach. “But we also want to keep it a little bit more simplistic in that we’re going to take good players. Again, coach [Andy] Reid, coach (offensive coordinator Eric) Bieniemy, they’re going to find ways to utilize these guys’ strengths. Skyy is unique, he is smaller, but he plays big. He has longer arms. He was a running back that transitioned to wideout. It was funny watching his tape because it seemed like we were watching forever before we saw him drop a pass. His ball skills are great.”
Veach continued to gush over Moore’s skills and scheme fit into the Chiefs’ offense.
“He can get off press coverage, he plays big enough where you can utilize him on the outside, utilize him on the inside, has great run‐after‐the‐catch, great kid, smart,” Veach said. “[Moore] can pick up an offense real quick. So, on one hand, I think when you’re picking, there are times where you are looking for something. But we have guys like MVS (Marquez Valdes‐Scantling) that has some size and speed, Mecole (Hardman) has speed, JuJu (Smith‐Schuster) is big. So, I feel like we have a good combination, and now we just want to add the best player, regardless of size or height, just guys that we feel are going to come in and be able to contribute right away. Certainly, Skyy is one of those guys.”
Chiefs assistant GM Mike Borgonzi doubled down on the team’s interest in Moore at that spot specifically.
“I think that’s any time you trade back,” Borgonzi began. “We just went back four spots and New England ended up taking a wide receiver from Baylor at the time. So, we were sitting there hoping that Skyy would still be there, but it was something that we felt comfortable with at the time and picking up a fifth‐round pick. We certainly liked all those guys; we brought in Pickens. But I think we were really looking at Skyy. We wanted Skyy.”
