What makes Chiefs GM Brett Veach so vital to their success? Let’s start with cohesion
Discounting the unfathomable behind-the-scenes prep work and opposition research and maneuvers proposed or considered but not consummated in the recently completed NFL Draft, on the surface this one ran counter to the bold default disposition of Chiefs general manager Brett Veach.
At least until the end on Saturday, when he traded a 2021 sixth-round pick to Tennessee for the right to make Tulane cornerback Thakarius “BoPete” Keyes the 237th overall selection.
“Even though we didn’t do trades the first two days,” Veach joked during a video teleconference Sunday, “you guys knew I had to sneak one in there at the end.”
Veach, of course, didn’t do that just to say he did.
The move reflected vigilance and patience and the seizing of an opportunity, nevermind how how deep it was into the draft.
Meanwhile, making no other trades doesn’t contradict the notion of how aggressive Veach said he and his staff remained behind the scenes … even as they also seemed to demonstrate that discretion can be the better part of valor.
Only time will tell how prudent the decision to make the trade and the five other picks were.
But Veach has long ago proven himself a virtual visionary of talent, possessing a remarkable breadth and depth of knowledge about so many players. And the orchestration of a draft that included several players who appear capable of immediately helping says a few meaningful things about the ongoing alert and hungry mentality of Veach as the yet-underappreciated GM of the reigning Super Bowl champions.
As the man who pestered coach Andy Reid into taking notice of Patrick Mahomes and brought in Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark last year after purging the likes of Eric Berry, Dee Ford and Justin Houston, Veach has proven himself vital and stands in a formidable circle of trust that suggests a bright future ahead for the organization.
To name one substantial element of that, as he did Sunday: “I can’t imagine there’s a stronger coach-quarterback-(general manager) relationship than the one that Coach and I have together with Patrick.”
One little measure of how much they are on the same page: When Veach the other day texted Mahomes in a thread that included Reid and playfully asked him to name of who he wanted to see drafted to complement the offense, Mahomes said LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire … who indeed became their first-round pick.
To name another element of this crucial synergy, it’s Veach’s specific connection with Reid.
“It doesn’t mean we’re always going to agree, but at least he’ll know where we’re coming from,” Veach said soon after taking the job. “The thing about Andy is, when you really get to know him, he’s not a control freak and he’s not power-hungry.
“He surrounds himself with guys who work hard and guys who challenge him. He likes people … who come to him with outside-the-box thinking because it elevates his game.”
That’s repeatedly proven true of Reid, particularly evident in the context of Veach.
Given that, Veach’s role in hopes of a repeat and tentative hints at dynastic potential can’t be overstated.
Starting with understanding the new world order, both in terms of contending with contingencies of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and as the man with the team to beat.
The former intern and assistant to Reid in Philadelphia, and then assistant to GM John Dorsey here before replacing his deposed predecessor in 2017, used to have to envision what it would be like to win a Super Bowl.
Way back then, he figured, “Once we get one, we can maybe alter our approach, take a step back.”
Not quite, it turns out.
With 20 of 22 starters back from a young nucleus and an entire coaching staff returning, Veach and his staff were in a fascinating position for the draft … free to freewheel only to largely stand pat out of a rigorous assessment of the landscape and what was happening around them and what may be to come on the market.
“Selective aggressiveness,” he called it.
“It’s that fine line between being aggressive because that’s what got you here … If we weren’t aggressive, we wouldn’t have been here potentially,” he said, later adding, “If you don’t have a bunch of draft picks and you don’t have (salary) cap flexibility, you’re going to be in trouble because you’re just not going to have the numbers.”
Speaking of which, the most pertinent numbers-crunching ahead now are the contracts of Chris Jones, with whom the Chiefs have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal under the guidelines of the franchise tag they appended on him, and the matter of what might as well be creating a license to print money for Mahomes.
While sorting out the Jones situation is a priority, resolving Mahomes’ contract is no less than a necessity considering how the phenomenon has shaken up the NFL and stirred up Kansas City.
The foundation was laid for everything going forward the day the Chiefs drafted him, Veach said.
So even as Mahomes enters the final year of his rookie contract at a base salary of $825,000, even if the negotiations will take a while and likely have twists and interruptions along the way, it seems in everyone’s best interests that Mahomes earn hundreds of millions of dollars and become a Chief for as long as possible.
That’s the path to what Veach called a potential “long line of winning Super Bowls here” and creating legacies.
So they will ultimately figure out what Veach called “the dynamics of making that happen,” including trust, dialogue and creativity.
And bolstered by faith in the process to date, they will keep building around Mahomes with the senses of urgency and insight that got them this far.
“It’s a projection business that we’re in,” Veach said.
One that projects particularly well for the Chiefs about now.