The best GM on the third day of the draft... isn't even close.

[Direckshun]

This is shocking, the degree to which Veach has built a Super Bowl team on the back of third day selections.

2019:

No. 201: Rashad Fenton, CB (South Carolina)
No. 214: Darwin Thompson, RB (Utah State)
No. 216: Nick Allegretti, OG (Illinois)
UDFA: Darius Harris, Tim Ward

2020:

No. 138: L’Jarius Sneed, DB (Louisiana Tech)
No. 177: Mike Danna, DE (Michigan)
No. 237: BoPete Keyes, CB (Tulane)
UDFA: Yasir Durant, Tommy Townsend, Turk Wharton

2021:

No. 144: Joshua Kaindoh, DE (Florida State)
No. 162: Noah Gray, TE (Duke)
No. 181: Cornell Powell, WR (Clemson)
No. 226: Trey Smith, OG (Tennessee)
UDFA: Shane Buechele, Dicaprio Bootle, Malik Herring

2022:

No. 135: Joshua Williams, CB (Fayetteville State)
No. 145: Darian Kinnard, OT (Kentucky)
No. 243: Jaylen Watson, CB (Washington State)
No. 251: Isiah Pacheco, RB (Rutgers)
No. 260: Nazeeh Johnson, CB (Marshall)
UDFA: Justyn Ross, Jerrion Ealy, Jack Cochrane

That's just a hit rate that's downright embarrassing.

Not including the UDFAs, that's 15 players.

Of those 15 players, that's SEVEN players who are either perennial starters (Sneed, Smith, Williams, Watson, Pacheco) or who have been regular starters at one point on the roster (Fenton, Allegretti). And two other players I think we'd classify as critical cogs who don't start (Danna, Gray).

That's a third day draft pick "hit" rate of 60% -- absurd. And with Veach raking in usable UDFAs every year, this is how the team is going to remain competitive throughout the Mahomes/Veach tenure.

I don't think there's any secret here, like Veach is magically smarter than everyone else. I think he does have one advantage, and that's a Hall of Fame coaching staff coaching up his prospects.

But mostly, I think the teams that work the hardest are the teams that do the best on the third day.

I don't think there's a single team that does more quality work on the third day of the draft.