Apr 15, 2024, 08:35 ET
The Kansas City team is more in need of offensive than defensive talent
KANSAS CITY, Missouri. — In the first season of Patrick Mahomes as a starter in 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs They scored quickly and conceded points almost as quickly. General manager Brett Veach remembers urging that year’s defense to make one stop per game.
“I still remember saying that if we got them to punt once, we’d have a chance,” Veach said.
But the Chiefs They needed help on defense, so Veach went to work. Since he became general manager, he has made four first-round picks: three of those picks were defensive players. He has made nine second-round picks since his first draft in 2018, five of them on defense.
It seems that the time has come to strengthen the Chiefs offense with the 2024 draft. AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
These investments are one of the main reasons why Chiefs they won the Super Bowl for the third time in five years.
“Now, suddenly, it’s like all we have to do is score, just score once, and we’re fine,” he analyzes Brett Veach.
Subscribe to Star+!
Enjoy the best NFL content on ESPN, and much more, through Star+. Subscribe NOW.
But this year’s draft should be different for Veach and the Chiefs. The defense, after the Chiefs they hired again Chris Jones and five other defensive starters, is in good shape with little positional deficiency.
It’s the offense that needs help. The Chiefs They could easily draft an offensive player in the first round for the first time since 2020, when they took running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Most of their remaining six picks could also go toward offense.
NFL Draft 2024 by Star+
You can enjoy the 2024 NFL Draft live from April 25 to 27 through Star+. Subscribe NOW!
“You always want to approach each offseason by improving on both sides of the ball, but I think it’s your process that gets you to where your roster is now,” Veach reflected when explaining the teams’ recent lopsided drafts. Chiefs. “That chain of events of paying a quarterback a lot of money and taking him late in the draft probably lends itself to more defensive players.”
Despite hiring the veteran Marquise Brownlos Chiefs They have a shortage of wide receivers, where uncertainty surrounds the availability of their most productive player from last season, Rashee Rice, who faces eight charges in connection with a car accident. To the Chiefs They could also use help on the offensive line, where left tackle Donovan Smith He is a free agent and his main substitute in the interior positions, Nick Allegrettisigned with the Washington Commanders.
If the Chiefs If they bet heavily on offense in the draft, they would be happy with results similar to those they had when drafting defensive players. Recent drafts have brought in key defenders such as Nick Bolton, Trent McDuffie y George Karlaftis in the early rounds, and productive players like Mike Danna, Joshua Williams y Jaylen Watson in the last rounds.
“I don’t think I ever imagined having one or two top-notch defenses,” Veach said, referring to the challenge of building a roster around a high-paid quarterback. “It feels good knowing that you didn’t have much margin for error on that end and that most of the guys that you brought in through the draft, even in the later rounds, most of those guys have played and produced and you can see the results.” .
2024-04-15 12:35:00
#Chiefs #possibly #breaking #long #trend #draft
