Chiefs GM Brett Veach may still make more moves this offseason

The NFL’s annual owners meetings are ongoing this week in Arizona. The yearly meetings bring NFL owners and executives to one location to discuss league matters, such as rule changes. The Chiefs have a couple of rules changes they are proposing to the league, including ensuring each team has at least one possession in overtime (hello, AFC title game).

The meetings also bring media members from across the nation to the event, and one of those media members is Good Morning Football host and AP lobbyist Peter Schrager. Schrager had some interesting things to say Monday after he spoke with Chiefs general manager Brett Veach for an extended period of time in Arizona.

SCHRAGER: “There’s obviously reason for concern here. Dee Ford led the league in forced fumbles last year, and Eric Berry was not only the defensive leader but he was the locker room guy and you’re losing important players both on and off the field. I will say this—Brett Veach, their general manager—and I talked to him for a long time in the lobby [Sunday], they might not be done. This guy is a riverboat gambler in every sense of the word, and you mentioned the (Patrick) Mahomes deal. Everybody was raising their eyebrows at the Super Bowl two years ago when they traded Alex Smith, and think about to the draft before when they drafted Mahomes and traded up to 10th overall after Alex Smith had that year. I don’t think the offseason is done and I don’t think the Kansas City Chiefs are done. What does that mean? Does that mean trading up in the draft to get one of these elite guys? Maybe. Does that mean looking at other teams and saying, ‘Who are some of their pieces that might be on the move or entering final contract years?’ Maybe they make a move and get aggressive there. I can’t see the Kansas City Chiefs just sitting on their hands from now until training camp after losing three of their best defensive players and their locker room leader in Eric Berry. I’m going to go with the thought that they are still a work in progress on defense, and they’ll go from there.”

This should come as welcomed news to Chiefs fans, who understandably have reason to be still concerned with the defense as a whole. While the Chiefs were able to nab a former All-Pro safety in Tyrann Mathieu, saying goodbye to both Dee Ford and Justin Houston without another proven edge rusher on the roster is questionable... at least for now.

For better or for worse, Veach is usually a bit more open than his predecessor in John Dorsey in speaking about plans to media members, so there could be something real to Schrager’s words.

There are some intriguing defensive free agents still available, and the Chiefs have two first-round picks and four second-round picks over the next two drafts if they believe an elite defender is within reach of a trade-up.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is expected to take questions at the NFL’s coaches breakfast slated for Tuesday morning. Though it is rare for Reid to talk personnel decisions these days, perhaps we will at least hear some updates.