It’s preposterous to judge a draft class after one night — but let’s do it anyway!

When the 2025 NFL Draft opened in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Thursday night, your Kansas City Chiefs were armed with the 31st pick. But after months of speculation, evaluation, rumors and mocks, the night went pretty much as expected. The Chiefs even acquired the 32nd pick from the team that kept them from picking 32nd in the first place!

While the Chiefs walked away with a predictable selection, it could provide enormous value. While other teams leveraged future draft capital to find their quarterback of the future (only two were actually picked), the Chiefs built around theirs.

Here are some early guesses on the winners and losers from Thursday night.

Winners

General Manager Brett Veach: Most everyone agrees that — if healthy — new tackle Josh Simmons is a top talent; he could even be the steal of the draft. The Chiefs did their homework on both the player and his injury — and felt confident in both. Veach waited patiently, allowing Simmons to slide to him — a process that felt more difficult because everyone seemed to know what Kansas City would do — and then grabbed a fifth-round pick from the Philadelphia Eagles. In his pre-draft press conferences, Veach maintained that it’s not easy to trade down — and indeed, this was the first time he’s ever done it in the first round.

New Chiefs offensive tackle Josh Simmons: Think of the disappointment he must have felt after missing so much of his final college season with a serious knee injury. Then during the draft process, his maturity and character were picked apart. He was among the players initially scheduled to appear in Green Bay for the first night of the draft, then decided not to make the trip. Perhaps he wasn’t confident he’d hear his name called on the first night. But in the end, he was a first-round pick — and he’ll join the team that wanted him all along. It just happens to be the perfect landing spot for him: a championship team with a very good offensive line coach, where he’ll have the opportunity to protect Patrick Mahomes. While he’ll have the chance to compete for the left tackle spot right away, Jaylon Moore’s presence on the roster will reduce the pressure on him. If he needs more time to get ready, the Chiefs can afford to give it to him.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes: With top players at cornerback, linebacker and EDGE still available, Kansas City could have improved its defense on Thursday night. But Veach understood that the franchise’s success depends upon Mahomes, so he chose to double down on protecting him. And why not? Mahomes has proven that the only thing that can stop him from winning Super Bowls is playing behind a line he cannot trust. The future Hall of Famer seemed to enjoy the pick on X, responding with a happy emoji. He has to feel good that his team acquired one of the draft’s top talents to protect him.

Losers

Left tackle Jaylon Moore: It has to be frustrating for an NFL player to wait their turn. Moore was drafted to a team with a Hall of Fame left tackle; he played his entire rookie contract behind Trent Williams. Then in 2024, he got his chance to fill in for multiple games, proving he was more than capable of being an NFL left tackle. Early in the next free agency period, Kansas City signed him to a significant contract to fill a big hole at left tackle. Moore had to feel like he was finally going to be “the guy.” But just weeks later, the Chiefs added a very talented player at the same position. While there’s a good chance that Moore will still start the season as the team’s left tackle, he’ll be looking over his shoulder at the guy who will probably take the job. In the best-case scenario, both new tackles play well enough to compel the team to move on from Jawaan Taylor in 2026, giving both of them a chance to start. But right now, Jaylon feels Moore like insurance than “the guy.”

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo: In a draft loaded with defensive talent, Spags will have to wait at least another day before getting any help for his squad. Some of the best fits for his defense went off the board in the 10 picks before the Chiefs were on the clock — including defensive tackle Derrick Harmon and Tyleik Williams and safety Malaki Starks. Then the team traded out of 31, allowing the Eagles to take the draft’s best linebacker: Jihaad Campbell. As Day 2 begins, five of the best remaining players are defenders, including cornerback Will Johnson, EDGE Mike Green and safety Nick Emmanwori. Still, we doubt Spagnuolo is losing that much sleep; it seems likely the team will invest heavily into the defense this weekend. But adding a first-round defensive tackle (for example) would have been nice.