We’re still getting to know the Kansas City Chiefs new GM, Brett Veach. There are some good stories out there on the role he played in the Eagles drafting DeSean Jackson (2008), LeSean McCoy (2009) and Fletcher Cox (2012). Those are three pretty darn good players and Veach had some sort of role with all of them, according to these stories over the years.
There’s this piece that says Veach was among those looking at the receivers the year the Eagles drafted DeSean Jackson.
Veach was assigned to study wide receivers in 2008 leading up to the draft. That year, the Eagles picked DeSean Jackson in the second round. Jackson has made two Pro Bowls.
Then there’s this piece from Jenny Vrentas of The MMQB two years ago this summer that highlighted another one of Veach’s wins: LeSean McCoy.
Veach was given a list of draft-eligible backs to cross-check, a process that usually asks a person with fresh eyes to offer an unbiased evaluation from the tape, often for players who have grade discrepancies or peculiar measurables. One player on that list was LeSean McCoy, the Pitt running back who didn’t have great size and had an unusually bad 29-inch vertical jump. But according to the person who shared the story with me, Veach trusted the film and saw that McCoy’s running skills—his vision, instincts and ability to make people miss in small areas—were head and shoulders above anyone else in the class. It became a little bit of a good-natured joke in the building about how hard Veach was pushing for McCoy, offering to fill any downtime in Reid’s day with a few minutes of McCoy tape.
ESPN analyst and possibly, maybe former Chiefs GM candidate Louis Riddick called out Veach last year for his early interest in Fletcher Cox, who is a star for the Eagles.
Current #Chiefs Co-Director of Player Personnel Brett Veach was THE very first person to pound table for Cox when he was a scout w/#Eagles.
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) June 14, 2016