KC Chiefs: Brett Veach deserves consideration for Executive of the Year
By Kole Berrey
It’s time for everyone to acknowledge Brett Veach for what all he’s done for the KC Chiefs since he took over for John Dorsey. He’s done an incredible job for the Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is one of the most electric players in the NFL and when you have a quarterback of that caliber, you just expect to win. This is the same trap that the Green Bay Packers fell into with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.
Over a three season span from 2016-2018, the Packers had a record of 23-24-1, and it was clear just having a generational talent at quarterback wasn’t going to be enough. Organizational change was needed, and Mike McCarthy was dismissed as head coach.
After a great free agency period and draft, Green Bay ended 2019 with a record of 13-3 despite a down year from Aaron Rodgers (by his standards.) This is why it should not be understated just how good of a job Brett Veach has done as general manager for the Chiefs over the last few years.
I will be the first to admit that I wasn’t sold on Veach at the beginning of his tenure. Even though he played a huge part in the scouting of Mahomes, it was John Dorsey who pulled the trigger on the draft pick.
Veach’s first draft class as the GM left much to be desired. Of that 2018 class, the only regular contributor is defensive lineman Derrick Nnadi. Veach’s free agent signings were also not home runs either, as Sammy Watkins and Anthony Hitchens highlighted the free agent class. After year one with the team, Hitchens was the ‘leader’ of one of the worse defenses in the franchise’s history, and Watkins missed half the season with yet another nagging injury.
After the initial blunders as general manager of the team, Brett Veach hit his stride and ended up building a team that is made to last as an AFC power. We discussed that, and so much more, on this week’s episode of the KC Kingdom Podcast.
We talked how Veach set the foundation for an AFC dynasty, previewed the Chiefs-Texans divisional round match-up, and took a look at the entire playoff landscape after a wild weekend of football. If listening to the podcast doesn’t interest you, no worries, just keep on reading below as I take a deep look at how Veach put this roster together, and just why he deserves more traction as a potential executive of the year candidate.
There are a few different things we need to look at when examining just what Veach did to put this team together. The main components are his aggressive philosophy, free agency , draft class, trades, and contract management. I am going to get into all that, starting off with Veach’s offseason that set the tone for 2019 and beyond.