KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t just recently decide that wide receiver Sammy Watkins and linebacker Anthony Hitchens would be their primary targets once NFL free agency started.

They had both players in their sights as far back as last summer. General manager Brett Veach said two of the first moves he tried to make after getting the job last July were to trade for Watkins, then with the Buffalo Bills, and Hitchens, at the time playing for the Dallas Cowboys.

“When I first took over in July ... the first call I made was to Dallas about Anthony Hitchens," Veach said Wednesday after the Chiefs announced their contract agreements with both players. “I knew that Derrick [Johnson] was coming off another injury and I just knew that we would have some potential depth issues. ... We went through all the teams that had linebackers with one year left on their deal [and thought] maybe they’ll move them.

"We identified the Christian Kirkseys, the Preston Browns, the Anthony Hitchenses. The very first call I think we made as a new staff was to Dallas. ... They said they weren’t going to move him."

The Chiefs instead traded with the Bills for another linebacker, Reggie Ragland. They had to wait a season for Hitchens, who will start along with Ragland at inside linebacker this year after the Chiefs moved on from Johnson.

Veach also called the Bills and general manager Brandon Beane last year after hearing Buffalo was thinking about moving Watkins.

"The problem was he wanted a [second-round draft pick]," Veach said. "Being a first-year GM and then going into the draft without a 1 or a 2, I would have put myself in a bind. We offered a 3 and that didn’t get it done.

"We would have liked to have Sammy last year."

Beane and the Bills got their second-round pick from the Rams instead in exchange for Watkins.

Watkins caught only 39 passes in his one season in Los Angeles, though he scored eight touchdowns and had a healthy 15.2-yard per catch average.

But he won’t turn 25 until June and his deep-threat ability would seem to mesh with the strengths of new Chiefs’ starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes II, who throws an excellent deep ball.

"Sammy Watkins is a good fit for anybody," Veach said, adding the Chiefs would have tried to acquire Watkins even if Alex Smith had remained as the quarterback. "Don’t let the [lack of] production fool you. When you watch the tape the guy is open all the time. You’re talking about [6-1], 4.38 [in the 40], tremendous hands and ball skills. There really isn’t anything he can’t do.

"Now he had some injuries and bounced around a couple different places. Sometimes it takes some time to develop a cohesive deal with the quarterback and the offense and the rhythm. You talk about a full offseason with this guy? It’s going to be exciting.

"From a skill standpoint, he was the best player on our board in free agency. We feel we’re leaving with the best player on the board overall and the best receiver obviously."