Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach has taken a lot of slack over the years for his first decision in the 2019 NFL draft.
The Chiefs didn't have a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft after they traded it away to acquire DE Frank Clark from the Seattle Seahawks. Fast forward to the second round and K.C. decided to make a trade up. Tyreek Hill's off-field situation was murky and the Chiefs moved up with the Los Angeles Rams to select Georgia WR Mecole Hardman. They sent two picks, No. 61 and No. 167, to the Rams for No. 56.
Eight picks later, the Seahawks selected Ole Miss WR DK Metcalf at pick No. 64. K.C. even passed on Metcalf once more, selecting Juan Thornhill with pick No. 63. Fast forward to today, and Metcalf has well over twice the receptions (372), yards (5,332), and touchdowns (43) as Hardman has in his career.
It's the ultimate game of hindsight to say the Chiefs should have taken Metcalf over Hardman. However, when asked about his biggest miss in the draft on Kevin Harvick's podcast "Harvick's Happy Hour" from FOX Sports, Veach couldn't help but point to Metcalf as the player he most regrets passing on.
“DK Metcalf might be a guy that stands out just because of the limited pass tree, I think there were some injury concerns," Veach told Harvick. "And sometimes, I think you learn through the process, especially with these injuries. And I'm fortunate that we have a great training staff, and Rick Burkholder our trainer, we've been together for a long time. But our relationship was different when I was a scout as opposed to GM and just understanding and learning the terminology. But I think sometimes getting clarification on injury status and the likelihood of someone making the contract."
By most accounts, Metcalf's neck injury saw him removed from the Chiefs' draft board. Veach all but confirmed that to be the case in his comments to Harvick, but reflecting on it now, he's learned a thing or two about the process.
"Sometimes, you don't take guys and fans do the mock drafts and they go through it, and they're like, ‘Well, we should have taken this guy or that guy.’ But at the time, a player could have been off your board because you had character concerns or an injury concern," Veach explained. "And so, I think looking back on DK, there were areas that we weren't sure on. But there were none that should have prompted us to bypass him. And I think I think that's one player that sticks out."
Thankfully, this regret isn't a one-off situation for Brett Veach. It's a common occurrence around the NFL when any team bypasses a player who turns out to be pretty good in the league. Veach shared a perfect example of a regret that some other franchises might have from the 2017 NFL draft.
"I'm sure there's a ton of others, and I think every team is probably the same way," Veach said. "I'm sure there are a lot of teams that were too low on Pat Mahomes and saying that quarterbacks from the Texas Tech air raid style of offense don't work out. So I think every team has them and I think it's useful because you'll learn stuff from why you didn't select the guy at the time. And you know, it's been helpful for me. Sometimes the big misses help you grow into a better GM and you're better off for the long run.”
With a wide receiver selection potentially occurring in the 2024 NFL draft, Chiefs fans will likely get a chance to find out whether or not this is just lip service from Veach.
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