The Senior Bowl continues to be a big part of the evaluation process for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The postseason all-star game, which takes place at the end of January in Mobile, Alabama, attracts some of the top draft-eligible prospects in the country.
In fact, in 12 of the last 13 drafts, there were at least 82 players selected who participated in the longstanding event that dates back more than 60 years, including 84 guys this year.
Overall, there were 51 players selected in the first four rounds of this year's NFL Draft who participated in the Senior Bowl, and two of them are now Kansas City Chiefs—linebacker Dorian O'Daniel and safety Armani Watts.
The fact that both of those guys played in that game is something that stood out to Veach.
"They don't have to play in that game," Veach explained. "I think when you're a small school player or if you're a big school player that maybe isn't as highly as touted, maybe those guys line up and play because they want to get one more chance to show what they can do and to elevate their stock to some degree.
"Guys like Watts and O'Daniel played at big programs, played a lot of football. They didn't necessarily have to go there. It's easy for these guys to say, 'Hey, look, we play a lot of football and just want to get our body right for the Combine and the pro days.' We understand that—absolutely understand that.
"But I think it just goes back to the competitiveness of these guys. They get a chance to play at the Senior Bowl and compete—show these guys one more time, I'm not going to back down from competition, not going to back down from the cameras being on me and these evaluators being up close and personal. So, I think it speaks more to their desire to not shy away from the competition."
Over the past six years, the Chiefs have drafted at least one player who competed in the Senior Bowl every year, and 10 players in total.
Last year, two of the Chiefs' first three picks competed at the Senior Bowl and were both small-school guys—running back Kareem Hunt (Toledo) and linebacker Tanoh Kpassagnon (Villanova).
After leading the league in rushing last year, Hunt was awarded the Senior Bowl Rookie of the Year Awardthis offseason.
Here's a look at all the current guys the Chiefs have drafted who competed in the Senior Bowl in their respective years:
