Travis Kelce has special message for Chiefs draftees, especially tight end Noah Gray
The Chiefs’ Travis Kelce just completed the greatest five-year stretch of any tight end in NFL history.
In 2020, he set the NFL record for a tight end with 1,416 receiving yards, his fifth straight season with a thousand or more receiving yards. That’s another NFL record.
Kelce was an All-Pro in two of the last three seasons and was part of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl championship team the year he wasn’t named to that team.
If you were wondering how he would react to the Chiefs drafting Duke tight end Noah Gray in the fifth round on Saturday, Kelce answered that ... on Thursday.
Kelce joined Chiefs radio voice Mitch Holthus and team reporter Matt McMullen for an interview during the first round of the NFL Draft.
Holthus specifically asked Kelce what he would think if the Chiefs would draft a tight end.
“Let’s bring him in, let’s mold them into the culture, let’s get him out there making plays, I’m all for it, man,” Kelce said. “First of all, I love the tight-end room. Everybody in the room that’s been here since the get-go I call brothers and I call family, and it ain’t gonna change if we get a new guy that’s supposed to be coming in and being that dude for the next couple of years.
“I’m completely fine with helping anybody get better. I was just talking to (Falcons draft pick) Kyle Pitts, who’s gonna be a superstar in this league about mentorship and what that means, and he embodies the tight-end position. He’s a guy, he’s athletic enough at his size to probably sneak in the wide receiver room and play anywhere on the field but he loves the tight-end position. And there’s something to be prideful and just proud of when you’re in the tight end-room, because you’re asked to do so many different things.
“And that’s the biggest thing for me is to help this position grow. I didn’t have this success and I don’t have all the fun out there on the field without a guy like Tony Gonzalez or a guy like (former 49ers star) Vernon Davis, I mean you name it, the guys before me, that have blazed the trail and given me an opportunity to have that much trust in our offense. ... I’ve just been very fortunate. I just want to pass that torch.”
Kelce also was asked what newly drafted players face in the first few days after being selected by the Chiefs.
The first day is about celebrating with family and friends, then comes the trip to Kansas City and meeting the coaching staff and other players.
Rookie minicamp typically starts shortly after that. Kelce called it a roller coaster, then had a message for any player joining the Chiefs: they want to win another Super Bowl. That’s especially true given the loss in Super Bowl LV.
“But I’ll tell you what: anybody that gets a chance to come to Kansas City is going to be sitting in a situation with a lot of motivated players coming back here with the Chiefs,” Kelce said, “and just put on your seat belt man because we got to figure out how to win another one.”
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 11:00 AM.
