On that beautiful, wonderful, marvelous April day in 2017, the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Mahomes and traded up to do it. Even though they only made it up to No. 10 on the draft board, Mahomes was still there for KC to nab. Everybody wondered whether or not this Mahomes kid would pan out.
Except for Brett Veach.
He wasn't even the GM at the time, but working right underneath John Dorsey he lobbied ferociously for the Chiefs to go after this guy. The rest is history -- indeed much of the glorious Chiefs history is still to be written.
Why is this about Brett Veach as much as it is about Patrick Mahomes? Because I happened to catch a couple things recently that caught my eye about how much Veach did to impact NFL front office activity that wasn't as dramatic then as it is now.
One of the things that struck me was several pre-draft prediction boards have had something like four or five quarterbacks going at the very top of the draft, at the very top, picks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 -- that kind of thing.
Huh.
Then there was the 49ers trade with the Dolphins to get into that No. 3 overall slot. Why? It is clear, they are angling to get that Quarterback-Of-The-Future.
The Niners GM saw what Veach did for the Chiefs.
It is very clear. It is very clear what the Chiefs have shown the rest of the NFL over the past two years, something I'd pointed out several years before.
You cannot win without that guy.
You just can't.
And this is what is happening right now in the world of pro football. They saw what happened in 2017 when the Chiefs waved the magic wand in Veach's hands and are now clamoring to do the same, hoping they will be the team that lands that quality QB high on the board and get into the elite class of very few real genuine Super Bowl contenders...
Like the Chiefs.
Right now it seems Veach is being a shredded a little bit too big of an aye-hole because of his perceived inability to stockpile free agents to shore up our Superteam.
Please.
I'd laugh if it weren't so stupid. Chiefs fans were spoiled last year because Veach was so good at shaping our perennial Super Bowl contender, and because it doesn't quite look exactly like that this year?...
Oh please. I have one thing to say to these lounge-recliner potatoes still living in the Monday after the Super Bowl.
Doan-wohrree-abouditt.
Please. Let's look shall we.
First, Veach immediately snatched two of the best offensive linemen available, even after it was obvious our O-line problems in the Super Bowl had nothing to do with the O-linemen themselves but with the fact that (a) they were replacing several injured O-linemen, and (b) coach Andy Reid did a totally crappy job of preparing our team and getting us to matriculate the ball down the field for the goods we actually had available or on the field.
Really, come on, Joe Thuney and Kyle Long will do just fine making sure Mahomes continues his stellar play, and with Duverney-Tardif returning and Lucas Niang ready to start things up on his end, we'll be fine in that area.
Second, we do have key assets locked up for a while. Travis and Tyreek aren't going anywhere. Mahomes is a Chief-for-life, that alone is cause for celebration every day of the next ten years. Our young players committed for the next few years are solid, particularly CEH, Hardman, Gay Jr, Thornhill, and Sneed. These guys have shown they can be studs, and it is always two to three years after a draft that you can see whether or not those picks pay off.
Thirdly, there is the "Tershawn Wharton factor." Veach has shown not only a deft ability to see the right talent in the draft (that's an entire Veach positive right there) but to see it in post-draft free agency. Wharton turned out to be an amazing find, anchoring the interior D-line exceptionally well.
Fourthly, Veach has shown himself to be a master salary cap exploiter, getting every single dollar he can out of the key limitation impeding every team's efforts. This is precisely why John Dorsey was let go, he didn't get the bang for the buck that Veach has. And wow, has he done it. Other teams are marveling over Veach's ability to move money anywhere and everywhere he possibly can to get those players on the field. Appreciate it Chiefs fans, deeply appreciate it because I can tell you the Chiefs are up against it being a small market team most NFL'er power-thwackers wherever-they-are hate to see our team succeed.
You know, as they say, trust the process. Let Veach work his magic, and then enjoy the ride. Let's get into seeing how the season unfolds, especially when perhaps we don't have a "Superteam" this year. That's great. That means nothing is guaranteed. That means we have to work harder to earn another ring. I almost think it was too easy last year.
So yeah, maybe all the sneering detractors is a good thing for the Chiefs. Maybe they will see the ridiculous discontent and that will actually motivate them even more. That's cool. Already Mahomes is steamed he couldn't get it done in LV. That may actually be the best thing that could've happened.
Because now Brett will be just as motivated to get it done in the front office.
Doan-wohrree-abouditt.
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The image is from Getty Images, thank you.
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