Former general manager believes Chiefs could trade out of first round of NFL Draft

One consequence of the Chiefs’ success in the Patrick Mahomes Era has been making fans wait ... at the NFL Draft.

The Chiefs will have the 31st and final pick in this year’s NFL Draft. Last year, they had the 29th overall selection but traded up. In 2020, the Chiefs picked 32nd, and they didn’t have a first-round selection in 2019 or 2021 because of trades.

Former Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik calls picking late in the first round “a great problem to have every year.” KC fans would agree.

Dominik, who is now a SiriusXM NFL Draft analyst, said the key for a team drafting late is preparing like they have one of the top picks.

“Don’t take a rest on positions where maybe you’ve built some strength and make sure that you’ve got your board set as if you were drafting No. 1 or No. 2 overall,” Dominik said this week in a conference call. “That way you’re prepared to get yourself into the position and the strength of where your team’s needs fit with the board. ...

“So it’s just a matter of I think trusting your board and making sure that you’ve got it set as if you were drafting high so you don’t get into that trap of getting comfortable or assuming some guys are gonna be off the board.”

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach didn’t wait until it was his team’s turn to make a selection in last year’s first round. The Chiefs moved up to 21st and selected cornerback Trent McDuffie.

With 10 picks in this year’s draft, could we see another move up by the Chiefs? Dominik actually thinks it could go the other way.

The Chiefs have the last pick in the first and second rounds and will choose late in the third round. They also have a pair of fourth-round picks. In Dominik’s mind, those aren’t great assets for a move up in the first round.

Dominik believes the Chiefs could parlay a trade down into an extra pick in the second and/or third round.

By trading back, the Chiefs would “have a little more ammunition to fill a few different holes rather than just taking that one,” he said. “So if I were to choose the direction, I think that Brett would pull back rather than move up.”

Update: Veach said he is open to a trade out of the first round. “I don’t think it would be hard at all.,” he told reporters on Thursday.

Chiefs’ priority

While the Chiefs lost two wide receivers in free agency (JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman), Dominik sees the Chiefs first seeking help in the offensive line.

“Lucas Niang has really struggled with injuries or getting on the field,” Dominik said. “That’s a lot to sit there and think that you’re gonna get 17 (games) out of him. I think that tackle is certainly in their crosshairs as their first-round pick, just because it’s a lot to ask out of a guy that just hasn’t been able to be there.

“And then I think the second thing is, I know they signed Charles Omenihu, but I think that another rusher is something that’s going to be important to them, and that’s where they might get the real value. Because I think there’s a chance that a couple of these defensive linemen that are good players might slip down in the first round and be there at 31. So I think trenches is where the Chiefs go. I think they’ll go O-tackle and then edge rusher, but it could go the other way.”