Chiefs the second-best drafting team over the last five years

[T-post Tom]

https://www.si.com/nfl/chiefs/kansas...ey-brett-veach

The Kansas City Chiefs have been one of the better drafting teams over the last few years. They have done a good job of finding the right talent to add to their roster and look to continue that.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been one of the better drafting teams over the last few years. When they lose key players year after year and even after their Super Bowl runs, they always seem to find the right answer by selecting the right players that fit their team's needs. The Chiefs will need another solid draft class in the 2025 NFL Draft, which begins Thursday.
Before we get to draft night for 2025, we want to take a look at what the Chiefs have done over the last five years in the draft.

No matter what round it is or what pick they are selecting, general manager Brett Veach has done an excellent job of knowing what the team's needs are and when it is the right time to take a certain player. Veach and the Chiefs have not been scared to move up and trade up for a player they believe will give them the best chance to win. We have seen that over the years, and that can be the case for this year as well.
The Chiefs have started their own dynasty over the years. And the way they have done that is by making their roster improvements in the NFL Draft. They have made the right picks, they have taken advantage of bad drafting teams, and know how to get players to buy in.

Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic ranked the Chiefs the second-best drafting team over the last five years.

Total 50 picks: 5
Pro Bowls: 4
Starting seasons: 39

Best pick: C Creed Humphrey (No. 63, 2021); Worst pick: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (No. 32, 2020); Best value: G Trey Smith (No. 226, 2021)

No team has done more with less in recent drafts than the Chiefs, which consistently have picked toward the bottom of the first round. Humphrey (technically, the third center off the board in 2021) was one of the NFL’s best interior linemen by the end of his rookie season and remains so today.

The Chiefs have found talent in different rounds over the last five seasons, and that is because they are picking at the bottom of most rounds as well. That is something that is not easy to do. They have their work cut out for them in this year's draft, which can be the most important in franchise history.

[MahomesMagic]

We had an incredible core of players that were HOF stars before Veach took control. And yes, Veach is given a huge credit pushing for Mahomes under Dorsey.

Tyreek Hill

Travis Kelce

Chris Jones

Patrick Mahomes


What Veach has done well in going to 5 SB's has been getting on base and doubles over and over and over.


Maybe Creed is also a HOF drafted but mostly just very good players that fit what we do like

Bolton

Sneed

IPac, etc


With the old star core other than Mahomes aging out we need a few more super stars drafted over the next 3-4 years if we want to maintain dominance.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

We had an incredible core of players that were HOF stars before Veach took control. And yes, Veach is given a huge credit pushing for Mahomes under Dorsey.

Tyreek Hill

Travis Kelce

Chris Jones

Patrick Mahomes


What Veach has done well in going to 5 SB's has been getting on base and doubles over and over and over.


Maybe Creed is also a HOF drafted but mostly just very good players that fit what we do like

Bolton

Sneed

IPac, etc


With the old star core other than Mahomes aging out we need a few more super stars drafted over the next 3-4 years if we want to maintain dominance.

You know how I know you're a disingenuous cock sucker desperate to push your narratives?

You don't even mention Trent McDuffie, like he's not an All-Pro blue chip player. You do this every time you try to push this narrative too, so it's absolutely not accidental.

I wonder if it's a coincidence that the one time Veach was in range to actually get a legitimate 1st round talent and blue chip prospect, he knocked it out of the park.

Also, anybody with an eye for talent can see that they might also have 2 young blue chip WRs that stepped up as WR1s as rookies and led the team to a SB.

But it's so much easier to be a disingenuous bundle of sticks.

[Kiimo]

Doesn't even say who is #1 *flush*

[T-post Tom]

Originally Posted by Kiimo

Doesn't even say who is #1 *flush*

You have to pay extra for that

[MahomesMagic]

Assuming if that is recent its Eagles?

[Rain Man]

Nonsense. The Chiefs are the best.

[T-post Tom]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Nonsense. The Chiefs are the best.

Rain Man is never wrong. Not even on a slow boat to Vietnam.

[SHOWTIME]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Nonsense. The Chiefs are the best.

No, the Eagles are. Veach is a good GM, but Howie is better.

[Coochie liquor]

Originally Posted by SHOWTIME

No, the Eagles are. Veach is a good GM, but Howie is better.

Howie has had the opportunity to draft earlier than KC 3 of the 5 years. He also has an owner who sold 5% of the team to float the capital to push contracts down the road, which Clark doesn’t seem very keen on. If you factor in draft position, it would be difficult to put Howie on top. They basically just had a draft as close to KCs 2022 draft, for the same reason. We traded Reek and got a haul, they traded Wentz and got a haul. Also add in that teams have been reluctant to trade in the draft with KC, and not really with the Eagles yet.

Veach drives me crazy on certain things, but he’s had a harder hand the last 5 years than Roseman.

[SHOWTIME]

Originally Posted by Coochie liquor

Howie has had the opportunity to draft earlier than KC 3 of the 5 years. He also has an owner who sold 5% of the team to float the capital to push contracts down the road, which Clark doesn’t seem very keen on. If you factor in draft position, it would be difficult to put Howie on top. They basically just had a draft as close to KCs 2022 draft, for the same reason. We traded Reek and got a haul, they traded Wentz and got a haul. Also add in that teams have been reluctant to trade in the draft with KC, and not really with the Eagles yet.

Veach drives me crazy on certain things, but he’s had a harder hand the last 5 years than Roseman.

True, but Howie has done exceptionally well in the later rounds.

2020 - Hurts (2nd)

2021 - Landon Dickerson (2nd), Milton Williams (3rd)

2022 - Cam Jurgens (2nd), Nakobe Dean (3rd)

2024 - Cooper Dejean (2nd), Jalyx Hunt (3rd)

And look at the 2023 draft, we went with FAU, while Sam Laporta went a few picks later to Detroit. Laporta would be the perfect replacement for Travis. Or Veach could have gotten a little agressive and traded up in the first round a few picks to get Nolan Smith before the Eagles did.

[Jewish Rabbi]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

We had an incredible core of players that were HOF stars before Veach took control. And yes, Veach is given a huge credit pushing for Mahomes under Dorsey.

Tyreek Hill

Travis Kelce

Chris Jones

Patrick Mahomes


What Veach has done well in going to 5 SB's has been getting on base and doubles over and over and over.


Maybe Creed is also a HOF drafted but mostly just very good players that fit what we do like

Bolton

Sneed

IPac, etc


With the old star core other than Mahomes aging out we need a few more super stars drafted over the next 3-4 years if we want to maintain dominance.

Originally Posted by SHOWTIME

True, but Howie has done exceptionally well in the later rounds.

2020 - Hurts (2nd)

2021 - Landon Dickerson (2nd), Milton Williams (3rd)

2022 - Cam Jurgens (2nd), Nakobe Dean (3rd)

2024 - Cooper Dejean (2nd), Jalyx Hunt (3rd)

And look at the 2023 draft, we went with FAU, while Sam Laporta went a few picks later to Detroit. Laporta would be the perfect replacement for Travis. Or Veach could have gotten a little agressive and traded up in the first round a few picks to get Nolan Smith before the Eagles did.

Hope you both get sodomized by a horse

[Shields68]

Originally Posted by Coochie liquor

Howie has had the opportunity to draft earlier than KC 3 of the 5 years. He also has an owner who sold 5% of the team to float the capital to push contracts down the road, which Clark doesn’t seem very keen on. If you factor in draft position, it would be difficult to put Howie on top. They basically just had a draft as close to KCs 2022 draft, for the same reason. We traded Reek and got a haul, they traded Wentz and got a haul. Also add in that teams have been reluctant to trade in the draft with KC, and not really with the Eagles yet.

Veach drives me crazy on certain things, but he’s had a harder hand the last 5 years than Roseman.

Howie has done better in FA's. Barkley, Baun, Becton were all great signings at an extreme bargain. But they have have also drafted guys that I was surprised fell that far. Like jalen Carter, Dejean.

[tredadda]

KC is #1 and I would argue that it isn’t particularly close. Not counting the draft in a couple of days, KC’s average draft position has been #29 since the year Mahomes was drafted. That’s the equivalent of the championship game loser with the worst record of the two. The next closest one was ~8 positions behind. No team has produced greater value for where they drafted than KC.

[smithandrew051]

Skyy Moore is the worst pick of that era though.

CEH has at least had a couple good games and managed to be productive at times.