It's a long wait until pick No. 32 in the 2024 NFL draft on draft night. Of course, it's a good thing in many ways, because it means you had a great team that reached the peak of the NFL the year prior. It also presents significant challenges for a team like the Kansas City Chiefs.
For evaluators like Chiefs GM Brett Veach, there are never as many prospects with first-round grades as there are picks in Round 1. Sometimes trading up is the only feasible option to secure a blue-chip prospect at a certain position. That was the case in the 2017 NFL draft when Kansas City moved from pick No. 27 to pick No. 10 to secure star QB Patrick Mahomes.
Could the Chiefs manufacture such a trade-up in the 2024 NFL draft for a prospect with a first-round grade who isn't a quarterback? Brett Veach isn't closing the door on the possibility.
"I can envision myself (trading up)," Veach said. "I mean, you've got to get the owner's approval on that. But no, I think it just it's, it changes every year and I think we have a pretty good plan this upcoming week."
What would it take for the Chiefs to trade up in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft?
Whether a trade-up in the first round happens or not depends on many different variables that could change in an instant on draft night. First, a prospect that Brett Veach likes needs to be available in a certain range. Then, he needs to have a consensus among the top decision-makers such as Clark Hunt and Andy Reid, and maybe even QB Patrick Mahomes in some instances. Then, the team must find a willing trade partner, which isn't as easy for K.C. as it might be for other teams.
"Listen, every situation is unique," Veach continued. "I mean, we've had conversations in the last few years about guys that we consider top five, top six prospects, if they were to fall into the teens moving up and (we) got Clark (Hunt) and Andy (Reid) involved, and they were all in it and those situations just didn't work out."
While things didn't always work out in the past, any year could present the perfect storm. The key is being prepared for such things so you're not left blindsided by something happening on draft night. That means having a clear understanding of the few prospects you might be willing to move up for should they fall in the draft.
"So, I think that I certainly could see something like that," Veach explained. "A lot of things have to fall in place, though, for that to happen. So, it'd have to be probably a specific guy or two, and then probably get into a landing spot, that's not expected. And then if he does get to that landing spot, that's not expected, the team is willing to work with you on a trade that makes sense. So, I certainly can see it, a lot of things have to happen and fall in place to see an outcome like that, but I always think anything's possible."
With Veach confirming that 16-18 prospects on their draft board carry a first-round grade, and 4-5 of them being quarterbacks. That means as few as 12 prospects could be in consideration for a trade up to the middle of the first round. Some of those prospects might not be in consideration given positional value, further proving it has to be the perfect storm for a trade-up to come to fruition.
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