4 Combine Questions Shaping Chiefs’ Draft Board

“We have to execute an efficient game plan in free agency,” general manager Brett Veach said Tuesday, “and then we got to nail all these picks, and that'll be important for us to keep this run going. Obviously, we had a step back last year, and everyone's disappointed. But everyone's motivated. Even the coaching staff, too.

“Like I said, the last few years, we haven't had a chance to really get with them much before the combine and right after that Vegas game (Jan. 4), I mean, those guys were all-in, and it was exciting and energetic in a way, just to get out there. And I think the last few years, we were kind of just like in a maintenance stage, and now we're trying to just rebuild this thing again. I think for a GM and a personnel staff, that's exciting.”

In addition to what the assistant coaches see, here are three more questions shaping the Chiefs’ draft board – every draftable prospect’s name stacked from best to worst -- at this week’s combine.

Who replaces underclassmen returning to school?

Of all the things Brett Veach said during his 15-minute combine press conference Tuesday, the subject that seemed to vex him most was the amount of underclassmen who opted to stay in school. Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and Oregon defensive lineman A'Mauri Washington were just some of the stars that opted to return to college.

NIL and the transfer portal have turned college football into a poor man’s free agency, causing teams like the Chiefs to seismically shift their boards.

“When the official decision date for these underclassmen came out,” Veach said, “I believe we moved over 25 guys off our board that we had top 75, top 100. It really impacts the draft. And then you’re getting older prospects as you go on. I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon and that’s something that we have to adapt to until there’s some wholesale changes on what they do on the college side.”

Will Kelce return?

Veach said the team has two blueprint plans, building with Travis Kelce back for a 14th NFL season, and building without him. The board looks much different without him. Noah Gray, for example, has a $6.97 million cap number. He could be a cap casualty if Kelce stays. If Kelce retires, Gray almost certainly returns.

Plus, the 2026 draft class is loaded with high-end prospects, players the Chiefs would value more if they knew Kelce was five years from Canton, not six.

Veach was polite publicly on Tuesday but the Chiefs in theory would love an answer (and then a new contract) by the time free agency heats up in two weeks.

Does the player love football and fit the Chiefs culture?

Andy Reid on Friday summarized the type of player the Chiefs want, players who cherish the game and hate losing.

“There is a fit, literally, there's a certain expectation that we've got,” the head coach said last week. “We didn't reach that this past year. So, it's important that we take care of business from a coaching standpoint, from an organizational standpoint, whether it's personnel or front office, and make sure we keep the expectations high and aggressive.

“And then make sure we bring in the right people to be able to do that and handle it. And so that's the whole fit you're talking about. That's what we're working through.”

Will the prospect keep the Chiefs from drafting this high again?

Veach, Reid and the Chiefs realize the urgency of winning this draft, and they’re looking forward to drafting highly in every round, not just Round 1.

“We don't want to be picking at 9 every year,” Veach added, “but we're excited to add some young talent to this roster. And I think even more excitingly, those second, third rounds, where I felt like in years past, Day 1 came and went and we'd come in there and there'd be five or six players but you knew at 32 in Round 2, you wouldn't get them, either.

“So, it's not just the first round. I think we have an opportunity to really capitalize here and add a lot of talent throughout the course of the draft weekend.”