Kansas City Chiefs' General Manager Brett Veach spoke with members of the media on Thursday morning in anticipation of the upcoming NFL Draft.
Here are some quick notes that stood out from Veach's remarks.
1. Veach began by speaking about the various directions the Chiefs could go with the No. 9 overall selection.
The Chiefs possess nine selections in this year's NFL Draft, including two picks in the first round, beginning with the No. 9 overall selection. It's the Chiefs' highest pick in over a decade, and with an opportunity to add a significant playmaker to the roster, Veach isn't ruling anything out.
"There are a lot of areas to improve on our roster, on both sides of the football. I think it does open up that No. 9 pick to go in any one direction," Veach said. "Certainly, we'll see how the first five or six picks go. I think the defensive backfield, the offensive line, edge rusher and receiver [are all possibilities] – again, we need help in all of those areas. I do think that we will be in a position there to get one of those players, and then add throughout the course of the draft. I think with where we're at with our roster, you can't eliminate any one need because there are a lot of them."
2. Veach explained where he believes the depth of this class resides in terms of specific position groups.
Veach is often candid with where he believes the strengths are in each year's draft, and this time around is no different. He detailed where he saw the depth in this year's class at several position groups on Thursday.
"I think there are quite a number of [offensive] tackles, but I think it does fall off right after that first round – maybe it extends to pick 35 or 40," Veach said. "I think at receiver, it's maybe not as top heavy as it was in the past. There might be a little break, but I do think there is some mid-round depth there at the receiver position. As everyone knows, it's kind of thinner this year at the running back position. I think at corner, it's just kind of sprinkled – there's some moderate depth there in Round 1, partly into Round 2, and then, like the receivers, you always get a run of corners in rounds three and four. I think there's a mid to lower-level pack of linebackers that are really deep."
3. Regarding the draft, Veach was asked to share an area in which he has grown over his time with the Chiefs.
As part of his answer, Veach emphasized the importance of patience in his role while also citing the need to recognize that every team has their own, differing evaluations on each player.
"You spend so much time on these guys, and you have such strong convictions on players, it's one of those things that when you do the amount of work and you live in a film room, I think you get into this mindset where you think everybody sees the board just like you do," Veach said. "I'm not saying our boards are always right, but you think that everyone thinks like you. Even now, when I'm our doing our mocks and I'm trying to project the first eight picks, I'm thinking, 'Well, this is definitely going to happen,' but then what happens is that it doesn't happen because not everyone sees the board like you. I think it's just about being patient and being fluid and having an understanding that there will be more guys that you like later on in the draft and not operating with that mindset that, again, everyone sees it just like you do."
4. Kansas City is picking at No. 9 overall this year following a disappointing campaign in 2025, but when asked if he's entering this year's draft with a different mindset, Veach emphasized the importance of a consistent approach.
The Chiefs recorded their first losing season in more than 10 years last year, but while the 2025 campaign didn't go as planned, Veach discussed the need to maintain the same, consistent approach that produced one of the longest runs of sustained success in NFL history.
"For me, it doesn't [change] just because there's a high-level of anxiety for every draft – there's a lot of high expectations around here," Veach said. "Even if we had a better season last year, we still would've made some of these moves with Trent [McDuffie] and some of these guys moving on, so there would be a high level of anxiety here. I think we just look at this as an opportunity to make our roster better, and so that element of this whole process is exciting. I don't think that you ever get too high or too low. The expectations are never going to change."
Veach went on to explain that every year might as well be a "make-or-break" draft for every team considering the constantly changing nature of the NFL.
5. One aspect of the Chiefs' process that underwent a major change this offseason was how Kansas City handled its "top 30" visits.
The league allows each team to conduct 30 pre-draft visits each year, and with the No. 9 overall pick this time around, the Chiefs – as Veach explained – utilized a different approach to this portion of the process.
"In the past, picking at 32, we probably spent most of those 30 visits on non-Combine players that we wanted to get medical [information] on," Veach said. "This is a unique draft where when you're picking at No. 9, and the grades are so close now with these guys from say [picks] 10-30, that you want every bit of information you can get. We brought in maybe three or four non-Combine guys [this year], where I think in the past, we've brought in 10-15 non-Combine guys. I feel like we've brought in every defensive end that could be drafted – we must've brought in 12 of those guys. Again, that's because grades are so close, and you may have the opportunity to get one of those guys at No. 9, and maybe No. 29. Just making sure we cross all our I's and dot all our T's."
