Veach finds himself in the rare position of picking in the top 10 for the first time since Kansas City selected Patrick Mahomes with the 10th pick in the 2017 draft — Veach’s first as the club’s personnel director. He needs to fill out as well and could have a chance depending on how the draft unfolds.
Based on his comments Thursday, it sounds like Veach is preparing for any eventuality.
“I think it’s definitely a unique draft. When we were combining, I had mentioned that when you have some of those ‘non-reference’ spots up there that are really high, it leads to different paths in terms of where you want to go,” Veach explained. “The position we’re in, I think we’ve got some talent on our team and our expectation every year is to go out there and try to win our division and make the playoffs and have a chance to compete for a championship. Having said that, there’s a lot of areas to improve on our squad, on both sides of the football.”
From the outside, it seems like Veach is handling his own choose-your-own-adventure novel. In the last seven mock drafts posted on NFL.com, the Chiefs have been paired with players from three different positions: offensive tackle (Miami’s Francis Mauigoa or Utah’s Spencer Fano), edge rusher (Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr., with one mock requiring a trade up to No. 6) and the cornerback at the top (DelSU) position).
“I think it opens the door for No. 9 to go in one direction,” Veach continued. “Certainly, we’ll see how the first five or six picks go. I think whether it’s quarterback, offensive line, running back, receiver, we need help in all those areas. I think we’ll be in a position to get one of those players and then add through the draft.”
Off-winter turnover hit the Chiefs harder than some teams, a reality often faced by perennial rivals. The problem for 2026, however, is that this Kansas City team isn’t making a deep playoff run. They didn’t even make the postseason, yet they got the top two corners the Rams poached (with Veach willingly parting ways with one via trade), parted ways amicably with starting right tackle Jawaan Taylor and watched safety Bryan Cook go to Cincinnati. Of their offseason additions, only one represents a definite upgrade — Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III — leaving plenty of room for improvement in a world where the pressure hasn’t eased.
“I like to think that every year is a new challenge, and when you have Pat (Mahomes), that’s the mentality that you always have a chance to go out and compete for a championship and compete for a division title,” Veach said. “The hard part is trying to maintain that standard, but also keeping an eye on the future and knowing that Pat is still going to be here for a long time. We always have to build that and build through the offense and the defensive line and that’s where it starts.”
Veach is ready to strike gold in the chaos. We’ll see if he can return to Kansas City with his new found treasure next weekend.