Chiefs rarely trade down in NFL Draft. Why this year could be different
Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach smiles when discussing the topic, knowing it’s going to be difficult to believe him based on his history.
But really, he says, this could be a year when the Chiefs consider trading down in the 2025 NFL Draft with their first-round pick at 31st overall.
“I think that could be in our wheelhouse, and it might make sense to us,” Veach said of trading down Thursday during a Zoom call with reporters. “We’ll have to see.”
Before explaining why it might happen this time, it’s worth reflecting on why a move like this would be such an outlier.
Veach, during his tenure as the Chiefs GM, has made 12 NFL Draft trade-ups, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. His average-per-year total ranks fifth among all team executives.
But trading down? Veach has done that just twice in his tenure, with an average ranking of 24th among GMs.
So yeah, a trade down — especially in the first round, which Veach has never done — would certainly go against KC’s tendencies.
But this year, Veach says, is different from others in the way the draft’s talent is dispersed.
The Chiefs’ big board, in a typical year, features between 15 and 20 names with first-round grades. Those are the guys — like receiver Xavier Worthy last year — that Veach has been aggressive to acquire via a trade-up if they slip to the end of the first round.
This year, though, Veach revealed the Chiefs only had 12 or 13 draft prospects who earned first-round grades. And not only that, there’s a larger-than-normal “secondary wave of guys” as Veach describes them — players that project as early second-round-type players.
So here’s a potential scenario: Let’s say the Chiefs’ top 12 or 13 players all go in the first 20 picks where they can’t make a move up to get them. Meanwhile, KC has several players it still likes in the early second-round range, meaning a trade back could become a possibility while still allowing the team to acquire a player it likes.
“I know that I’ve shown to be more aggressive, but I’m certainly open to (trading back),” Veach said. “And if it makes sense for us, and we can acquire additional picks, yeah, I’d be all for it.”
Veach also made the case on Thursday for why extra selections could be valuable.
The Chiefs have numerous roster needs, not only for the near term but also the future. When discussing that topic on Thursday, Veach said, “You can easily say we need two interior defensive linemen, another defensive end, two corners, another running back, and two or three more offensive linemen.”
“So you need a ton,” Veach continued, “and I don’t think I ever look at our roster and think, ‘We’re good.’”
That’s a lot of positions to address, especially with the Chiefs owning just eight picks in this year’s draft — with three of those coming in the seventh round.
The best way to add selections, then, would be to execute a first-round trade-down to acquire more draft assets.
But there’s a sticking point with that as well: It takes two to trade, and Veach says his team probably doesn’t get as many calls for potential trade-downs as outsiders might think.
Veach says from his memory, there has only been one draft in the last 4-5 seasons when the Chiefs received multiple calls about potentially trading out of their first-round pick.
Another pre-draft talking point that might be overblown: a QB-needy team might want to trade back up into the late first round to select a QB. All first-round picks are eligible for team-friendly fifth-year options on their rookie contracts, which can be especially valuable for teams that land a talented signal-caller.
In general, though, Veach says that trade opportunity hasn’t been there for the Chiefs.
“Every year, someone says to me in the draft room, ‘We’ll just trade back for a team that wants a quarterback.’ And I’m like, ‘That hasn’t happened yet. We’ve been hearing that every year, and that hasn’t happened yet,’” Veach said. “So maybe this will be the year.”
Veach joked that he didn’t want to give away any secrets, but he was comfortable revealing the Chiefs were not going to be in the market for a first-round quarterback this year. Yes, future Hall of Fame QB Patrick Mahomes has that position on lockdown.
If another team is looking for its own Mahomes at 31, though — with the bonus of getting a five-year rookie contract for that selection — then the Chiefs appear willing to weigh their options.
“We’ll certainly have the phones open,” Veach said, “and we’ll see how that goes.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Chiefs rarely trade down in NFL Draft. Why this year could be different."
