In case anyone else finds themselves in my shoes,the drawers have very tight detents in them when they're new. Which will make them feel like they're still locked but they aren't.
I noticed in one of the reviews for this box that someone mentioned "getting the drawers to open",but it was never mentioned what entailed doing that. It might have as simple as unlocking it. The hutch had some locking tabs on the door that weren't mentioned in the instructions. I just thought...