One year ago at this time, Brett Veach was feeling the push. The Kansas City Chiefs were chasing a historic three-peat, the chance before them to claim a first-ever NFL record of three consecutive Super Bowl titles. It's rare for any team to even claim a single championship, and only nine teams have ever won back-to-back Lombardis. It made sense for Veach to push the pedal all the way down.
As part of his efforts to construct a roster capable of withstanding such a journey, Veach became quite aggressive before the NFL's trade deadline to acquire two players at positions of need.
Wide receiver was a major concern for the Chiefs in the wake of injuries (Rashee Rice) and ineffective players (Skyy Moore, for one), so Veach traded for future Hall of Famer DeAndre Hopkins. The hope was that the veteran wideout would be fueled by a championship run late in his career and provide Patrick Mahomes with a trustworthy weapon.
The head-scratching result of the Joshua Uche trade is a bit of a warning shot before this year's deadline for the Chiefs.
On the defensive side, the Chiefs' lack of a consistent pass rush from their front four brought about a trade for Joshua Uche. The addition of a quicker weapon off the edge was intended to complement a larger, strong, yet more plodding room of defensive ends.
Looking back, it's interesting to see how these deals were widely regarded as positive steps for Veach and the Chiefs. The Uche deal in particular drew rave reviews, even from Bill Belichick, and the belief was that Veach had gotten a steal at a premium position. Together with the return of Charles Omenihu later in the year, Kansas City was expecting a major boost in the season's second half off the edge.
Unfortunately, things didn't play out that way. Not only did the Chiefs fail in their bid for a three-peat, but the Uche deal didn't even move the meter. Uche was largely a healthy scratch on the sidelines down the stretch, a head-scratching development for a clearly talented player to be deemed useful at a weaker positional group.
After the season, head coach Andy Reid was asked about Uche's addition and why things didn't work out. Reid cited the "fit" as the primary concern and said it was just "too late" in the season to find a way to alter schemes that allowed Uche to exhibit his strengths. By the time we got him, we were rolling. I'm not sure the fit was exactly what our defense (needed). ...He's a great kid."
In the end, he played only 87 snaps in 6 games for K.C. Felix Anudike-Uzomah earned more reps later in the year, which was good news for the former first-round pick. Omenihu also settled into the rotation with Mike Danna and Karlaftis. But even Malik Herring played nearly 200 snaps, so it's just hard to see how there was such miscommunication between the front office and the field.
Now the Chiefs are staring at another trade deadline and defensive line is, once again, expected to be the focal point. Here's hoping K.C. has a unified vision of the need and the solution so that any cost paid for improvements are appreciated in the end.