What Experts Said About Chiefs Draft 3 Years Ago

Cooper Kupp finished high school without a single college football scholarship offer. Ten years later, he was the Super Bowl MVP.

Grading drafts immediately after they happen is a lot like grading players finishing high school. Because the element of passing time is important, most draft grades aren’t accurate until a team’s players have a chance to prove themselves.

Well, days after it happened, Brett Veach’s 2022 draft earned excellent grades. Three years later, those grades have proven accurate.

That year, Veach traded up in the first round to take cornerback Trent McDuffie at 21st overall. Then, the Chiefs ended the round with defensive end George Karlaftis. And after three days that included Isiah Pacheco in the seventh round, Pro Football Focus handed out a rare A-plus.

“McDuffie was the 11th-ranked player overall on PFF’s big board and had one of the best careers PFF College has ever seen,” the scouting service wrote three years ago. “He turned in an 80.0-plus grade as a true freshman, sophomore and junior, something just one other Power Five corner has accomplished in the PFF College era. He may be small, but he possesses elite awareness and top-notch athleticism and is a physical tackler. McDuffie has all the traits to be a versatile chess piece for Kansas City.”

Three years and three Super Bowls later, Steve Spagnuolo would agree. The Chiefs’ defensive coordinator has three years of solid tape on safety Bryan Cook, linebacker Leo Chenal, cornerbacks Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson and safety (now cornerback) Nazeeh Johnson. Remarkably, all six defensive players drafted in 2022 are still with the team three years later.

ESPN and Sports Illustrated also gave Veach and his staff an A grade immediately after the 2022 draft. SI writer Conor Orr was particularly impressed with Karlaftis and Cook.

“At Purdue, he was often keyed on but gained valuable reps forcing his way through double teams,” Orr wrote in 2022. “He looks like the kind of chugging, effort player who can develop into a Trey Hendrickson of sorts if the Chiefs can support him on the back end.

“Which brings us to Cook. The Chiefs have done a really nice job identifying support players at the safety position throughout the Tyrann Mathieu era and Cook is another multifaceted defender who could turn out to be an every-down player under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.”

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