It's a safe bet Veach had intel strongly suggesting that if the Chiefs wanted Simmons, they had to take him at 32 and no later.

I'm trying to work through the logistics, and I just don't see too many paths in round 2.

I'd say these are the most likely, and maybe even the only possibilities that he would have gone in the 2nd:

Chicago at 39
Cincinnati at 49
Green Bay at 54

Is this the exact message you relayed to Veach when he called you from the Chiefs warroom that night?

I get where you're coming from. But I think that it was worth the risk. It's not like it's unheard of to take a risk in the first round. I remember the Lions taking an injured Jameson Williams pretty high in the first round a couple of years ago. Also, don't forget, only around 15 players usually have a first ground grade. Picking at the end of the round, you're likely to only have 2nd round graded players available anyway.

You just going to turn into another douchebag around here? Fair enough.

Lol! It's all in good jest, man. :thumb:

Sounds good. You never can pick up that tone from text. :thumb:

I do wish I had Veach's number and could ask him a question like that. I'd love to know these things:
Why did he feel so confident in picking Simmons in round 1 with that injury
If he truly felt like there was pressure Simmons would go early in round 2
If there was ever any consideration for or attempt to trade up for Conerly

I don't recall any media members asking those things, and maybe they wouldn't because they are afraid to push those buttons

This is the one I've been pondering. From the way things went down and the way Veach spoke in that post day-1 presser, they were pretty locked in on Simmons and had been for months. If anything, I suspect Conerly was the contingency, not vice versa.

This is probably going to be the best draft since 2022!

It might go down as andys tenure / second best draft besides the mahomes draft

But part of the reason why it was a good draft is because we didn’t have many holes to fill.