Chiefs GM expecting a lot of trades in first round

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In his annual news conference before the NFL draft next week, Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach made a bold prediction.

"It should be an entertaining night," Veach said Thursday. "There'll probably be a lot of trades."

Throughout this offseason, Veach has shared that this year's draft class is different from most years. Most analysts believe only one quarterback, Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, will be selected in the first 10 picks. Veach also said that some of the top prospects -- such as Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs -- do not play one of the league's premier positions. A number of factors, Veach said, could lead to teams engaging and executing more trades than usual.

"I think that the fans will be in for a treat next Thursday because I think the grades [on prospects] are going to be so close from some of these [offensive] tackles and D-ends and receivers," Veach said. "A lot of these guys that are mocked high may go a little lower and a lot of these guys that are getting mocked a little lower may go higher because I think they're so close this year. There's not this huge gap and huge fall off.

"That's what a draft like this -- when you don't have two or three [high-graded] quarterbacks and a [Will Anderson Jr.] or a Myles Garrett -- does: It lends itself to open up to a lot of fun and a lot of excitement."

The Chiefs could be one of those teams who want to consummate a trade. Since his tenure began, which was July 2017, Veach has made several deals days before the draft and during the event. The Chiefs are one of few teams -- including the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns, the Dallas Cowboys and the -- who have two first-round selections in this year's draft. The Chiefs are scheduled to pick ninth and 29th.