Brett Veach: We knew Mansoor Delane was our guy weeks ago

The Chiefs surprised some when they traded up to draft cornerback Mansoor Delane at No. 6 overall on Thursday night.

That was by design, General Manager Brett Veach said in his press conference, as the club wanted to keep its interest in Delane pretty quiet. In reality, the Chiefs knew Delane was the player they wanted weeks ago.

“[I]t’s funny because, three, four weeks ago, when we were going through the ’30’ visits, I bumped Steve [Spagnuolo] and said, ‘We’re going to bring our corner in,’” Veach said. “And he said, ‘Don’t bring him in. Just don’t bring him in. Let’s just Zoom him. Let’s keep it quiet.’

“I thought we did a good job. I think a lot of people thought we might go offensive line there. But this was our guy the whole time. Again, assuming [David] Bailey and [Arvell] Reese were off the board — again, great players. But we had Delane right up there. And it’s hard to find good corners. And I know that we’ve done well over the years of addressing corners late. But when you’re kind of within reach of a top corner, we did that a couple of years ago, I think we traded a 3 and a 4 to get McDuffie. So, traded a 3 and a 5 to get Mansoor Delane, so we’re extremely excited.”

Entering Day 1 of the draft, the Chiefs had the No. 9 overall pick, with Washington at No. 7 and New Orleans at No. 8. Veach said that given the Saints’ losses at cornerback over the last two years, Kansas City figured New Orleans would be its top competition for Delane. So, having engaged with the Browns on what a potential trade down could look like, the team executed a deal with Cleveland, moving up to No. 6 overall for a coveted player at a premium position.

“He’s super fluid. He’s athletic,” Veach said of Delane. “Obviously, he ran that 4.3 [40-yard dash]. But he’s a guy that plays patient, is super aware, has great ball skills. He’s tough, he’ll tackle. We think he can play inside and outside.

“Again, we feel like he was the most complete corner. I’m sure he was the consensus No. 1 corner. And, again, when you’re picking at [No.] 9, and you’re right there ,and you can get the No. 1 corner in the draft, you go get him.”