Is it fixed? Examining Brett Veach's handling of the Chiefs' largest offseason questions
It's "If I were Brett Veach" grading day, as we look at how the Chiefs have addressed the issues that were most glaring back in February. Offseason is upon us!!!
In almost any endeavor, it’s generally a good idea to take a step backwards and look at things from a “10,000 feet in the air” point of view every now and then.
Team construction in the NFL is no different, but it’s hard to do at times. In a sport with such large rosters and so much coverage on every single move, it’s easy to get caught up in the minutia of individual decisions. However, the big picture (short and long term) should not be ignored.
Almost immediately after the season ended (February 7th, to be precise) I wrote about some of the big picture issues that I would be thinking about if I were Brett Veach. Obviously the subsequent Tyreek Hill trade shook up the roster, but the same issues remained their largest concerns in my opinion (honestly, one became more enhanced). The following was my list of the “big picture” issues I believed most needed to be addressed aggressively for the Chiefs to have their best chance at contention in 2022:
Problems with a consistent pass rush (and DL talent overall), cornerback and safety depth, additional weapons on offense, and overall speed/physicality on defense.
With the draft now in the rearview mirror (following free agency, with a few notable veterans remaining on the market but most now gone, apparently including “we all though he’d be a Chief again” defensive end Melvin Ingram), we now have a decent idea as to what the roster will look like in September. That makes now is the perfect time to try and gauge where the Chiefs are roster-wise after a draft that was largely considered one of the best in the league.
And I do need to stress, the draft did go very, very well as best we can tell at the moment. You can find a detailed film review on multiple players by clicking their name below. My opinion of the draft has only been enhanced after looking at the film of everyone through the 5th round (with the exception of Joshua Williams, whose film is not readily available).
Darian Kinnard, Offensive Tackle
Every one of those guys has a lot of stuff to like about their film, and if even half of them work out the way the team hopes this draft will be an excellent one.
However, did it address enough? Where do the Chiefs stand now from 10,000 feet in the air? How does the roster stand in terms of addressing the issues it displayed throughout the 2021 season?
Let’s talk about the state of the roster, specifically with how Brett Veach has addressed the areas of concern I highlighted in February. We’ll look at significant losses and acquisitions and, because it’s the offseason, we’ll grade how Veach did “fixing” the problem. After that, we’ll take a look at what the biggest issue is now moving forward for the 2022 season and beyond, and what the Chiefs can do to address that issue in the short term.
After today, we’ll take a look at Justyn Ross’s 2021 film and then start getting into the meaty offseason stuff (Trey Smith, Jody Fortson, L’Jarius Sneed, and others aren’t going to review their own film, you know). But please consider this the Chief in the North’s official “welcome to the offseason.” While Veach did an excellent job with some of the biggest issues facing the team, others remain a very real question mark.