Brett Veach discusses adding Hollywood Brown, retaining defensive line for 2024

The general manager has been pleased with the way the Chiefs offseason has played out so far.

On Friday morning, Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach joined media members for his annual pre-draft press conference. The Zoom marked the first time Veach has spoken publicly since the NFL Scouting Combine.

During that time, the Chiefs re-signed All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones, traded cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and brought wide receiver Hollywood Brown into the mix. Reflecting on the full picture of the offseason, Veach sounded pleased with how it’s played out so far.

“When we left Vegas (and Super Bowl LVIII) and had a chance to get together before the combine,” began Veach, “we were just kind of outlaying some different ideas and some thought processes. One of the things that I think was glaring to us is we were potentially looking at losing most if not all of our defensive line — Mike Danna, Chris Jones, Turk Wharton, Derrick Nnadi — so obviously, a huge amount of concern there, especially given how well our defense played last year. It was one of the top units in the NFL. Those guys have all played together in the system for a long time.”

Veach found a means of bringing back all four players — beginning with Jones, who could be argued is the centerpiece of the entire defense. The general manager explained that he was the offseason’s top priority.

“Wanted to make sure we got him done, and then I think there was a little domino effect there,” said Veach. “Had the move with [Sneed], and we were able to bring Mike Danna back, but I think being able to secure that front with Danna, Turk, Nnadi and Jones was really important to us. Bringing back Drue [Tranquill] was important to us. Really focused on retaining as much of that defense from last year as we could. And then, like every year, whether it be free agency or the draft, if there’s an opportunity to add a playmaker for Pat, we’re always going to be looking for those options.”

With the defense taken care of, Veach turned his attention to finding another weapon for quarterback Patrick Mahomes. That turned out to be former Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Hollywood Brown.

“I think he’s going to be a great one-year addition for us, and he’s going to set himself up nicely moving forward,” said Veach of Brown. “I think we’re excited, and every year’s different and unique. I think with the resources we had available, I think we maxed what we could do this offseason.”