Brett Veach's latest Chiefs quote should terrify the NFL

This offseason will look different for the Kansas City Chiefs for a variety of reasons, the main one being the franchise getting a head start on 2026 preparations.

With the Chiefs not making the playoffs in 2025, the work to build towards 2026 started in January, not February as they had become accustomed to over the years, having played in at least the AFC Championship game every year of Patrick Mahomes' starting career.

Now, the Chiefs are coming off a poor season, and the chance to truly reflect and look at what went wrong can take place. For general manager Brett Veach, he's delivered a quote that should scare the entire NFL as it pertains to 2026.

“The last three years, we were kind of just like in a maintenance stage, and now we’re trying to rebuild this thing again," Veach said. "I think for a GM and a personnel staff, that’s exciting.”

More: Chiefs' path back to 2026 relevancy dependent on 1 key position

Chiefs rebuilding into AFC's apex predator

With the Chiefs being in at least the AFC Championship game every season of Mahomes' starting career, the focus was always to make sure that level was maintained.

Now, after swinging and missing, the Chiefs are recalibrating, and what that could mean for the 2026 season should excite Chiefs Kingdom.

There is a desire to change things up on the field, and Veach is clearly excited about the direction the franchise is going.

The AFC kings had a down year in 2025, but if the other teams in the conference thought that it was the beginning of the new "norm," well, they couldn't be more wrong.

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