Chiefs Taking Darron Lee From Jets Further Proves GM Brett Veach is a Trade Master

Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach is one of the best that the NFL has to offer. Well known for dominating recent Drafts, it's only natural that the 41-year-old also has a tendency to come out on top in trades.

Look no further than last offseason, when he sent a 2020 sixth-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for linebacker Darron Lee. Talk about taking advantage of Adam Gase in the opening stages of his stint as interim GM, huh?

Lee never quite lived up to his first-round billing, but the fact that the Chiefs only unloaded a sixth-rounder for him is ridiculous. In three years with the Jets, the former No. 20 overall pick racked up 241 tackles (17 for loss), 11 sacks, 17 quarterback hits, and 11 passes defended. Those numbers don't jump off the screen, but he was surely worth more than a late-round pick at the time.

Veach is simply a negotiating savant. He's already won the Dee Ford deal with the San Francisco 49ers. What about the trade that sent safety Eric Murray to the Browns for defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah? The Chiefs absolutely fleeced Cleveland there.

Even when Veach parts ways with stars like cornerback Marcus Peters, he immediately replaces them with studs in the draft. With the second-round pick he received for Peters, Kansas City drafted safety Juan Thornhill, who was a beast as a rookie before getting hurt.

The Chiefs are one of the best-run organizations in the NFL, and Veach's mastery in the front office, particularly on the trade front, plays a huge part in that.