KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach fielded media questions during an online presser Wednesday. Following is a transcription of the event as provided by the Chiefs.
OPENING STATEMENT: “I appreciate you guys for hopping on this Zoom call. We’ve had an exciting last few weeks of camp. As always, I’d like to start off by thanking the personnel staff and the coaching staff for all the hard work. We had a lot of work to do this offseason starting with the free agency period, into the draft and getting to St. Joe. We’ve had a lot of new players on the roster, young players, and again, can’t thank them enough for all the hard work that they have done for this organization the last few months. And I want to thank the players, who had a great camp, (a) great few weeks in St. Joe, in fact, (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) and I were talking a few days ago about the level of focus and dedication from this group. So it was certainly an outstanding group to work with. Congratulations to the guys that made our active roster and our practice squad. I certainly want to thank the guys who are pursuing other interests at different places. Again, the group as a whole was one of the better groups that we’ve had the privilege to work with, so with that, I’ll open it up and take some questions.”
Q: Can you explain the decision to keep three quarterbacks and where the need is there?
VEACH: “We always try to strive and keep the best players on the team, and you know, we have been very fortunate to have Chad Henne here the last few years and he’s been outstanding to have both on the field and in the classroom. And last year, bringing Shane (Buechele) in here, we just continued to see the growth and development in him, and we like that room. There’s a great chemistry with all three of those guys. At the end of the day, we always tell the guys that once we get them here, we like to put the decision in their hands and Shane was one of those guys that played well and earned a spot on this roster.”
Q: Do you feel like he is capable of helping you guys win a game now if you needed him to play? Where do you feel like he is on the developmental timeline?
VEACH: “Yeah, we do. I think just in general the guys that we end up keeping on that 53, I think we have the same mindset with all those guys. That they’re going to be up and active. They’re going to be ready to help us out, and again, we’ve been through this both ways. We’ve gotten lucky some years that everyone at that position has stayed healthy, and we’ve also had to use more than just one guy the last few years. There is no position as important as that position so when you have a guy like Shane come in here and do the things that he has, especially at that position, it’s something we feel confident in.”
Q: What do you think about this group of rookies? Nine of the 10 made the initial roster. Is that something that somewhat surprised you guys perhaps before camp started and as you guys progressed to this decision?
VEACH: “I think the thing that surprised us the most with this group is, and (Defensive Coordinator) Steve (Spagnuolo) may have mentioned this a few press conferences ago, is how quickly they have been able to catch up to speed. Usually when you bring in a group of guys, and we’ve had a big group this year, but usually when you bring in a rookie class, they’re all on a little bit of a different timeline in regards to ‘can they get up to speed’ and ‘can they be in a position to help this team out.’ And at what point? A few weeks into the season? Halfway point? I think the one surprising thing is the group, as a whole, I think has shown that they’ve been able to come in here and A: (show) that the game isn’t too big for them, and they fit athletically and skillset wise. And B: that the coaches have shown the ability to put their trust in them and to work them in. I think you guys have seen a lot of these young guys working in, not just playing time wise, but working in there with the first group and second group and they’re getting caught up to speed quickly. I think it’s surprising to have such a big class and have a majority, if not all of them kind of show that they’re ready to go. There’s still a lot of work to be done with these guys and Steve, (Offensive Coordinator) EB (Eric Bieniemy) and Coach Reid will be the first ones to say that we like where we are at right now, but to get to where we need to be, there is still a lot of work ahead of us.”
Q: What has Isiah Pacheco shown to give you confidence that he’s going to fit a role in this offense as a seventh-round pick?
VEACH: “Well as you guys know, we’re certainly a pass heavy offense, so I think when these young guys come in here, they certainly have to have the running skillset, but I think the ability to pick up pass protections and have reliable hands out of the backfield is certainly something that those guys have to show and demonstrate on a consistent basis, and he’s been one of those guys. Again, with all these rookies to come in here and show that yeah, listen, they’re going to know how to run the ball when given the opportunity but the blitz pickups, the protection checks and then just being consistent with their hands out of the backfield is something from day one that I think that Isiah has shown and we’re excited. Like all these young guys, we’re excited where he is now and that he has a great future ahead of him.”
Q: On the decision to keep five wide receivers.
VEACH: “Yeah, we went back and forth. A couple – I think sometimes there is that game within the game, so knowing how waiver wires work and knowing the trends of claims and knowing where we’ve been exposed over the years. I think like defensive end is one position that it seems like for some reason we always accumulate injuries at the position and we’re always a little short at the defensive end position. We have a couple older, veteran guys at that position as well and we thought that there would be a good chance to go heavier on that and have the opportunity to come back and have these guys like Daurice (Fountain) ready to go and put him on the practice squad. So, it’s never easy. You kind of go back and forth, trying to work the system to get all these players. We had a lot of good guys that we cut who we thought were 53-man-roster-caliber players. A little bit of it is calculating how the league works as a whole and we’re able to make these roster decisions. And then, as you mentioned Sam (McDowell), sign some of these guys back to the practice squad. And as I mentioned, Daurice was one of them – we had a good conversation – it’s just a matter of time before we’re going to need him, and he’ll be on the team at some point – it’s such a long season. I think it worked out in that regard.”
Q: On making a change quantitively on defense. Is there an aspect of it that you’re looking forward to seeing play out?
VEACH: “Yeah, we certainly want to get younger on defense and just get more athletic and build that depth. The trade enabled us to attack a lot of those areas. We’ll always be looking for ways to add talent to the offense with Pat (Patrick Mahomes), but at the same time, we want to complement him and our offense with an athletic defense that has speed to match up with all the great offenses that we see throughout our schedule. So, I think that was certainly on the forefront of being able to add depth, add athleticism and add speed. I think – again it’s early and we have a long way to go, it’s a long season, it’s a tough schedule – I think the defense has done a great job and I think the coaching staff has done a great job getting all these new parts in here. So many rookies with George (Karlaftis), Bryan Cook and then bringing (Justin) Reid in, (Trent) McDuffie, some of these younger corners that have made our active roster. I think all these guys have done a great job. And again, I think a lot of that, the credit goes to the coaching staff for being able to get these guys up and running quickly.”
Q: How much was Ronald Jones’ last game a factor in keeping him? What went into keeping four running backs?
VEACH: “That’s a good question. I certainly think that last game was important for him. As you guys know, we have long training camp days and Coach (Reid) does a great job getting the most out of that time at St. Joe. We are a pass-heavy team, so a lot of St. Joe – as you guys know – is dedicated to 7-on-7. Sometimes it feels like we’re out there for hours and hours just doing 7-on-7, but it’s all about the pass game and refining the quarterback. Every now and then those days kind of blend together. I think that last preseason game was a great reminder of how valuable Ronald Jones can be. We can all agree that he ran with a lot of authority between the tackles. We saw flashes of that at training camp. Again, you’re not in those live – we do those 9-on-7 drills, but some of that run-game, live stuff it’s a little bit tapered back to a degree and I think Thursday was a good reminder of how important that role is in our offense. I certainly think that he took advantage of that. When he got his number called, I think there was a sense of urgency that he ran with. I think it’s a good springboard for him to continue to work and be a valuable asset for us.”
Q: Is it fair to think that Blake Bell will go to IR? Are you guys optimistic that he might be back at some point this year?
VEACH: “We hope so. I think (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) mentioned it a few weeks ago that he might be a little bit here and we’ll work through that the next couple of days. But we’re certainly optimistic that Blake (Bell) will be back on the roster.”
Q: What did you see of Darian Kinnard at camp? Was he the player you saw at Kentucky and is he a tackle?
VEACH: “All of our guys – I think the one thing that we do a good job (of) when we get guys, whether it be through the free agency process or in the draft process, we put a high priority on their position flex(ibility) and a lot of these guys are interchangeable. I think when we brought Andrew Wylie here, he only played guard most of his career, now he’s playing tackle. So a lot of these guys have flex(ibility). I think with Darian (Kinnard), he had a really good finish to this camp. The last week, week-and-a-half was good. He did – I would say of the rookies, it was a little bit more of a change for him. I think he had the chance to play at Kentucky and that was a heavy-run oriented offense. I think coming into this league, the talent level is a lot different in regard to what you’re seeing off the edge. Now I know he played in the SEC so that was a good thing, but I think the talent change from the NFL and then going to a pass-heavy offense (is) a little bit of a different deal for him. I think it took him a little while to get his feet wet, but I think we started to see him turn the corner there towards the end of the (pre)season. And he’s, again, one of those guys that when you start to see it and invest in a draft pick, you want to see this thing through. We certainly think he has a lot of upside and as you mentioned Soren (Petro), there’s upside to both guard and tackle.”
Q: A lot of times the practice squad is fresh guys, now it seems like more of these practice squads are guys that you’ve had with the initial 90 guys. Is that a Chiefs philosophy or a league trend you think?
VEACH: “My gut would tell me it’s a little bit more (of) a trend thing. I think we have 14 guys signed up and we’ll have a chance to add some new players. I think that there were some players that we have reached out to that the guys that we didn’t get are staying with their teams. So, I think it probably does lean toward those guys staying. I think there’s a level of comfort. I think you’ll also see different waves I think early on. I think with the first game being right around the corner and if something did happen to a player these guys are ready to go right away and then you’ll have another wave and you’ll see this over the wire throughout the year. You’ll have big pockets of workouts now when the dust settles, and guys are out there and guys become available. Teams will start bringing in two, three, four players at a position and work them out and get even more extensive time with them, and then kind of bleed them into the practice squad. Then towards the end of the year you’ll start to see more of, it’ll never be 50-50 in regards to players that are with you and players that you brought in, but you’ll start to see the numbers start to shade a little more and some new blood coming in as we start to get towards the middle (and) end of the season.”
Q: You mentioned this a little bit earlier, I think you went from one of the top ten oldest teams to one of the top ten youngest teams. Was there a point last season where you realized you had to get younger at every position?
VEACH: “I think it’s one of those things, I think it’s at the forefront of every GM. I think depth and youth is something that whether you’re a team that has, I mean obviously if you have an older roster, it’s on your mind. But even if you have a younger roster, it’s on your mind. You’re always a few injuries away from having to bring in vets. You’re always a few good seasons from players signing somewhere else. I think the ability to have young talent to grow and develop is at the forefront of every GM and we were no different. I think when looking at our season and getting a chance to kind of review how we can get better, I think the defense was right at the forefront of just again adding youth and talent and athleticism. It was a priority, but I think every year it’s kind of that same mindset of just kind of getting younger and faster and more athletic.”
Q: You had a big overhaul on special teams as far as losing a lot of multi-phase guys from last year. How do you and Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Dave Toub feel about how that all shook out and how does special teams play into some of those final decisions, especially like a Chris Lammons or some of those last spots at each position?
VEACH: “Yeah Matt (Derrick), as you guys know we’re in constant communication with both sides of the football and that includes that third element with special teams. So when we get to these final positions and whether you talk about the final receiver spot, final corner spot, final linebacker spot, I think these are guys that we all feel good about and you know we did sign Daurice to the practice squad. We know that he has the ability to come in here and help us on (special) teams. Justin Watson was a guy that had shown the ability to do that in the past at Tampa Bay and he did a great job in training camp. Then Chris Lammons, you know he’s one of the best gunners out there, and he always finds a way to make a play on kick or punt coverage. So it’s a huge priority in what we do and I think this year’s team is no different and I think if you look at the final few guys that made our roster, all those guys have one similar quality and that’s they’re going to be able to come in and help us out in that phase of the game.”
Q: With respect to your roster construction, how transformative has the new practice squad rule allowing you to be able to stash a veteran like a Danny Shelton or a Daurice Fountain been when you’re kind of putting that initial 53-man roster together?
VEACH: “It’s been a huge benefit I think throughout the league. It’s funny because every year you’re always, you feel like you’re one or two short. So, when we had eight we just felt like if we had 10 it’d be enough and now here we have 16 and we just felt like if we had 18 it’d be enough but I think it helps in many ways. You know a lot of times you have these young guys that you want to continue to grow and develop but if you have an injury early on in the season you may have to make a roster move. Then once these guys get put on the active roster, back in the day as you remember they used to be exposed to the waiver wire. And then you know it’s different when a team poaches a player. It’s a three-week commitment and that’s tough to do if you don’t know the player, he doesn’t know the scheme. Back in the day when that happened you know you’d have to put them on the waiver wire and then they can just pick them up and not be committed for three-weeks and so it’s a lot easier to claim a guy. Now you can elevate guys and they’re exposed for one day but for the most part it allows you better insurance to protect those young players. While at the same time having additional space allows you to utilize older players in a pinch if you need. I think it’s just a good blend. I think it helps teams stay healthier. I think it allows players who are hurt to do the rehab the right way and to not have to rush to get back on the field to protect some players that might get exposed to waivers. I think from an injury protection standpoint and from a youth development standpoint it’s been a blessing to have not just 16 players but the ability to elevate these players twice throughout the season.”
Q: On the decision to keep Darius Harris and also cutting Jermaine Carter.
VEACH: “Well with the first (question) with Darius (Harris), I think he was the guy, similar to what Pete (Sweeney) asked about (Ronald Jones) RoJo, he’s a guy that went out there and earned it. I think that last game, you know he did a great job over the last few years. He’s really developed as a guy that we feel strongly in regard to backup mike (middle linebacker) position. (He) had the green dot the last two preseason games and I think from where he started and bounced around different linebacker positions to kind of growing into the guy that can handle some mike roles and you know the roles and responsibilities to that position. I think he’s demonstrated that. I think again like when Ronald (Jones), when he had the opportunity presented to himself that last preseason game he just took it and he ran with it. So certainly, we were excited about that development.”
Q: With all those guys that were kind of at the end of the roster as you said, was this a tougher decision than other years because of the depth you had during training camp and preseason?
VEACH: “Yeah, every year I feel like it’s tough because you get into a scenario where you’re trying to figure out how you can kind of get the best of both worlds. I guess you know you’re always looking at teams and looking at what they need and you’re looking at the trends of these waiver wires. So, you’re trying to sit there and calculate, without getting too cute, because at the end of the day you just want to keep the best 53 (players). But there is an element of working the waiver wire system the right way where the likelihood of guys being available to sign to the practice squad (vs) the likelihood of guys getting claimed on the waiver wire. So, it’s difficult because you always have to hold your breath when you expose guys to the waiver wire but I think in this case for this year some of the guys that we were looking and having hard debates on we were able to get those guys back on the practice squad. Every year it’s difficult and some years it works out and some years it didn’t. I think the way it worked out this year I think we feel very fortunate and lucky, and I think we’re heading into the season in the right direction.”