Veach spoke with the media on Thursday morning

Matt McMullen

The 2025 NFL Draft is exactly a week away, and with another major checkpoint on the offseason calendar nearly here, General Manager Brett Veach spoke with the media on Thursday to discuss how the Kansas City Chiefs are approaching draft weekend.

Here are five things that stood out from Veach's media session.

1. Veach explained how the Chiefs' approach in free agency provided Kansas City with the flexibility to stay true to their draft board.

The draft is designed to replenish every roster with young talent, but teams can often get themselves into trouble when they focus too much on filling needs rather than simply taking the best players available in every round.

Avoiding that trap is easier said than done, but Veach explained how the Chiefs' strategy in free agency was designed with that mandate in mind.

"Every free agency process, the goal and the objective is always the same, and that's to position your team [in such a way] that when you get to the draft, you can unlock the full potential of your board and take the best player available," Veach said. "We want to put ourselves in a position [through free agency] where we pretend there is no draft, and we have to go out there and play Week 1[What we did] was beneficial, but we're certainly not where we need to be, and thankfully, we have the draft."

Veach went on to use the Chiefs' signing of offensive tackle Jaylon Moore, rather than only relying on the draft to address the left tackle position, as an example of that strategy.

"I don't think it's a secret that we want to get some stability there at the left tackle position," Veach said. "He's athletic, he's a smart kid, and we did a lot of work on him during the pre-draft process years agoCredit to him that when he had a chance to go out there and play last year, he did a really good job. The next step for him is maintaining that level of play, but we're excited to add him and to hopefully provide some stability to the left side of the line."

Veach also said that the Chiefs' process of adding to the offensive line will likely continue in the draft.

2. He mentioned a handful of positions that Kansas City could target throughout the draft.

Veach is typically forthcoming when asked what positions the Chiefs may target from year to year, and this time around was no different.

"From a 1,000-foot view, it's probably safe to say that offensive line, defensive line and cornerback [are areas] where the draft has some numbers," Veach said. "I think that would be a logical landing spot for us early in the draft, but I think we're always in the mindset to add players that we have graded as impact players, and we certainly wouldn't shy away from continuing to add to our receiver room as well."

Veach later added that "all options are open" and they'll just have to see how the board falls.

3. Veach explained that the running back class is probably the deepest position group in this year's draft.

There's a palpable excitement surrounding this year's class of running backs, and Veach confirmed the Chiefs' appreciation for the depth at the position.

"The running back class is probably the deepest [position group] in the draft. I think you can get a really good player from Round 1 through 5," Veach said. "I feel good about that running back stackThere's a good likelihood that one of those players ends up on our roster, and hopefully they're a dynamic returner as well."

Veach mentioned the defensive line, and specifically edge rusher, as another position group in which this draft is deep with talent.

4. Regarding the potential of trading up in the first round, Veach suggested that he's open to being aggressive if the right player falls.

The Chiefs traded up four spots to select wide receiver Xavier Worthy in Round 1 of last year's draft, and when asked about the prospect of a similar move next week, Veach didn't rule it out. That possibility would depend heavily on how the board fell, however, and the reality is that the "secondary wave" of players is more robust this year when compared with previous drafts according to Veach.

"Last time I checked, [we had] 12 or 13 [players with first-round grades]," Veach said. "That's lower [than in the past], but that secondary wave of guys that are in the late first-round, high second-round consideration is probably a little higher."

Veach suggested that the Chiefs will have some flexibility either way, and if one of those 12 or 13 players fell, a potential trade-up is possible.

"If one of those guys, however unlikely that it is, were to fall into a reasonable landing spot, I'm sure we would make some calls," Veach explained. "It's unlikely, but it happened a few years ago with [cornerback] Trent McDuffie. So, that would be our mindset again."

5. Veach revealed the Chiefs have just over 200 players on their draft board this year.

The Chiefs' front office executives and scouts work for months to tirelessly construct the draft board that will guide their decision making throughout the event. So, it should come as no surprise that when asked how many players were currently on his board, Veach had a precise answer.

"I think we have 202 [players] right now," Veach said. "We've been anywhere from 185 to 210 over the years. I think we have plenty of names to work with, and hopefully, we're able to execute our gameplan as the names come off the board."

The 2025 NFL Draft kicks off with Round 1 on April 24.