Kansas City Chiefs focus on NFL Draft Round 2 with two picks and ‘maximum flexibility’
The Chiefs sat out the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft without a pick.
A pre-draft trade, which included the Chiefs’ first-round pick, with the Baltimore Ravens for two-time Pro Bowl tackle Orlando Brown Jr. took care of that.
But knowing how Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has pulled off deals to move up in the draft, was there a point in the opening round that might have enticed him to find a way to get back in the action?
“There wasn’t a time where there was any temptation,” he said. “When we made that move for Orlando, that was a guy we wanted, and we were happy and content to work with these two (second-round picks on Friday night).”
Veach stayed disciplined knowing the Chiefs’ draft board could land talented players in what he considers the “hot zone” — the second and early third round of the selection process.
After Thursday night’s opening round, Veach and his staff were reassessing names still on the board. The general manager didn’t seem to believe what happened around the league Thursday evening, with players selected and several trades, would have a large impact on what the Chiefs were looking for.
“I think we’ll know more (Friday) when the dust settles here and we look and evaluate the trades,” he said. “And then we compare the trades with the team needs or the perceived team needs that we believe those teams have.”
The Chiefs will enter Friday night with two picks (58th overall via the Ravens and 63rd overall) to add to a Super Bowl-caliber roster.
Veach has numerous options to consider in the second round, and his choices Friday night will depend on what’s on the menu. A couple of good pass rushers, Wake Forest’s Carlos “Boogie” Basham and Georgia’s Azeez Ojulari, could be available at pick No. 53.
Wide receiver, a position group that Veach complimented a handful of times in the weeks leading to the draft, might be on the menu. It would be difficult to ignore LSU’s Terrace Marshall at No. 53, for instance.
Missouri linebacker Nick Bolton, whom the Chiefs spent time getting to know during the pre-draft process, might be available at either of the Chiefs’ two second-round picks, too.
Regardless the direction they choose, the Chiefs are in a good position to grab not one but two impact players, thanks in part to their acquisition of Brown, whom Veach called a “plug-and-play” option to protect quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ blind side.
“I think the benefit for us is addressing that left tackle (need), we can can go in any direction,” Veach said. “I mean, we can go O-line, we can go D-line, we can go corner, we can go safety, linebacker.
“So, I think that’s the benefit of where we are in having those two (second-round picks) is we’re not pigeon-holed in saying, ‘We need a left tackle. We got to get this taken care of.’ Once we addressed that need, and we were able to acquire another second-round pick, it really opened the entire board for us and allowed for maximum flexibility.”
DID YOU KNOW
Thursday night marked the third time in the past four drafts that the Chiefs did not have a first-round pick.
The Chiefs sat out the first rounds in 2018 and 2019 before selecting running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire with the 32nd overall pick to close out the first round in 2020.
Thursday night also marked the fourth time the Chiefs didn’t have a first-round pick since Andy Reid arrived in 2013. Kansas City didn’t pick in the opening round of the 2016 NFL Draft after trading out.
DID YOU KNOW, TAKE II
Four players on the Chiefs’ current roster were selected in the second round:
- 2016: DT Chris Jones (37), Mississippi State
- 2019: WR Mecole Hardman (56), Georgia
- 2019: S Juan Thornhill (63), Virginia
- 2020: LB Willie Gay Jr. (63), Mississippi State
DRAFT NIGHT QUOTABLES
• “We’re certainly built to win and built to win now,” Veach
• “We have some different things that we’re working through,” Veach, on potentially signing newly acquired Orlando Brown Jr., who joins the Chiefs in the final year of his rookie contract, to a long-term deal
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Kansas City Chiefs focus on NFL Draft Round 2 with two picks and ‘maximum flexibility’."
