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Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach spoke with reporters ahead of the NFL Draft and hidden within the Q&A was a very interesting note about wide receiver newcomer Richie James Jr.
“He’s a guy that played with Mike Kafka last year in that [Brian] Daboll offense in New York,” Veach began after being asked about the recent WR signing. “Versatile player, you can move him around a lot, Middle Tennessee State guy that we liked.”
Then, out of nowhere, Veach divulged some unexpected information on James. “Actually, I think a few years ago there was a trading deadline period when he was with the [San Francisco 49ers], I think we actually tried to trade for him — one of those waiver wire cut day deals,” the Chiefs GM revealed, adding: “Always liked the player, think he’s a versatile guy and he also does punt returns too, so we can take some pressure off of K.T. [Kadarius Toney] or Skyy [Moore] or whoever’s back there — having another guy is something that we think is a plus.”
Richie James Faced Chiefs in Super Bowl With 49ers
Veach didn’t get into what year that was that he almost landed James ahead of Week 1, but perhaps it was just after the Chiefs went up against the Niners in the Super Bowl.
KC got a good look at the wide receiver/special teamer during the 2019 season’s championship game. James returned four kickoffs that day, as well as one punt — although it wasn’t exactly his best outing. He muffed the punt, but was able to recover, and only averaged 15.25 yards per kick return. James was not targeted in the passing game either.
Maybe that’s why the trade never happened…
All jokes aside, James has found a niche as a solid role player on offense and a plus-returner on special teams throughout his career. The former seventh rounder’s yardage totals as a receiver have increased every year that he’s been in the league, and he flaunts an impressive kick return average of 23.0 overall (one touchdown).
James is also coming off a career-year under Kafka with 569 receiving yards, four touchdowns and 29 first downs. As Veach alluded, the strong campaign within an ex-Chiefs coach’s system no doubt factored in their decision to sign the veteran gadget receiver.
Brett Veach Discusses Chiefs Signings Charles Omenihu, Jawaan Taylor, Mike Edwards & Drue Tranquill
Before talking about James, Veach also gave a little tidbit on each major signing of the 2023 offseason.
“Starting off first with Jawaan Taylor,” Veach kicked off his response, “guy that we liked from his days in college at Florida. Really, really athletic [as] a player. As we all know, he played right tackle in Florida, predominantly… played right tackle in the NFL. He’s a guy athletically [that is] long, quick feet, really really efficient pass protector and I think it wasn’t a secret that once free agency started, a [new] tackle was at the top of [our] list.”
Veach added that Taylor’s versatility gives them “flexibility” in the draft.
“With Charles [Omenihu], having our roster set up where we were losing some [veteran] guys at the time… like Frank [Clark] and Carlos [Dunlap] and Khalen [Saunders], we were a little bit depleted there on defensive line,” Veach went on. “Charles was a guy that made a lot of sense for us. He can play a lot of base-end on early run downs, but I think the thing that really appealed to us was his inside pass-rush ability. He’s long, he’s athletic and again, we just feel like pairing him with Chris Jones on third downs is something that will be really beneficial to us.”
Veach also noted their familiarity with safety Mike Edwards, who was coached by former KC assistant Matt House at Kentucky. “We talked to Matt,” the Chiefs GM explained, voicing that his front office determined a “scheme fit” with Edwards after the conversation.
“Even though [Steve Spagnuolo] doesn’t run exactly what Matt did in Kentucky, there was a lot of carry-over,” Veach said. “From an Xs and Os standpoint, that just fit the bill with Juan [Thornhill] leaving here.”
Finally, Veach got to linebacker Drue Tranquill, stating: “Sometimes it’s just really good value. I don’t know if we went into free agency saying linebacker was a super high priority, I think we probably focused on the O- and D-line… But then as free agency goes along, there are always some guys that for some reason or another are just out there and they’re really good players.”
“[Tranquill is] a guy that can play all three [linebacker] positions,” he concluded, “great blitzer, great in pass coverage, so I think all four of those guys made sense for us and I think they’ll be really key additions.”
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