KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If you couldn’t see it from the gleam in Andy Reid’s eyes on Thursday night or how he beamed when he spoke, you knew it when he invoked various versions of his ultimate compliment.
Prefaced with his insta-assessment that general manager Brett Veach “was on fire here,” his glow resonated all the more as he spoke about the Chiefs’ two first-round picks in the NFL draft.
First there was the matter of University of Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie, for whom the Chiefs traded up from 29th to 21st and had never expected to still be available that late: “Loves to play the game,” Reid said.
Then he turned to Purdue defensive end George Karlaftis, the 30th selection overall: “He has a relentless motor.”
For two glaring needs, these were two glistening picks, ranked 11th and 10th, respectively, on Pro Football Focus’ big board.
But that was just the most visible part of an apparently abundantly productive draft weekend that earned a national consensus of largely A grades for the 10-man class.
Yes, we know that seldom, if ever, has a coach publicly criticized draft picks or even said, “You know, I’m just not sure how we did here.” And even Veach will caution, as he did Tuesday, that there are variables in NFL transition times and staying healthy and fitting in a new system among a “lot of moving parts here” that look good on paper.
But, whoa, does this look promising on paper, with some six draftees (including the aforementioned duo and receiver Skyy Moore, safety Bryan Cook, linebacker Leo Chenal and offensive tackle Darian Kinnard) capable of contributing imminently if not immediately.
Putting these names to what days ago were simply a dozen faceless draft picks, combined with a previous handful of intriguing signings, lends a different sort of currency to an offseason that previously had been most notable for not re-signing Tyrann Mathieu and trading Tyreek Hill — franchise pillars in back-to-back Super Bowl berths and four straight AFC Championship Game runs (the first of which was without Mathieu).
The loss of Mathieu, the defensive leadership equivalent of Patrick Mahomes on offense, was profound in its own way but somewhat soothed by the profile of replacement Justin Reid that suggests he has ample chance to be a comparable addition over his time here.
Dealing away Hill (for five draft picks), though, made it hard to perceive how the Chiefs could improve in 2022 without the inimitable dimension he provided their offense.
As much as that move (driven by financial considerations first and foremost) could extend the viable time frame of championship-caliber play that seems assured as long as Mahomes is the quarterback, well, it also was easy to envision the previously wide-open window of the near-term abruptly slamming shut in the process.
But if we didn’t know this from how Veach and his staff previously have engineered radical offseason initiatives, including overhauling virtually everything about the defense three years ago to creating an entirely different starting offensive line last season, we surely should know it by heart now:
Veach, Reid and Co. truly always have an intricate and elaborate plan that reflects a shared and even symbiotic vision.
Never mind if we aren’t always able to discern it in real time for reasons from their need to have operating room, to who may be available when and where in the draft, to the daunting challenge of funding the operation in general, but especially when your megastar quarterback has a pesky $500 million contract to be navigated.
When the Chiefs came to be at extreme loggerheads with Hill, they had to confront hard questions about how they could possibly bridge that distance without compromising other needs.
Answer: They couldn’t.
So moving Hill became part of a shape-shifting offseason of getting younger and more financially flexible, a deal that in turn figured in trades for McDuffie and Moore with two more still in hand for next year.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs figure to become more versatile and less predictable offensively with the additions of receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdez-Scantling and Moore — whose reputation for dependable hands would be a welcome trait for a team that had too many costly drops last season.
Those aren’t the only acquisitions and draft picks the Chiefs have had, of course, and we’ll look closer at the full spectrum as the roster becomes more set (Melvin Ingram? Possible other moves ahead thanks to some financial wiggle room?).
For the moment, though, we come away from draft not merely appreciating the tangible identities those picks became but believing its of such overall quality that the Chiefs are poised to get better from this offseason after all — something that was pretty vital with the upgrades all around them in the AFC West that still will leave them hard-pressed to win it for a seventh straight time.
“It’s going to take a lot of work, but I think we have the guys and we have the wiring to be really good,” Veach said Tuesday. “How that all plays out remains to be seen. But I think given our track record, given our coaching staff and given the fact that we have (Mahomes) I feel optimistic, I’ll say.”
Same here.
