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Chiefs’ James O’Shaughnessy talks Travis Kelce, special teams

By Matt Verderame

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After releasing veteran-tight end Anthony Fasano early this offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs needed to add depth to the position. General manager John Dorsey likely sees third-year pro Travis Kelce becoming the go-to target at that spot, with youngster Demetrius Harris taking Kelce’s old role as the second tight end.

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    • Dorsey surprised many by not signing anybody at the position, instead going with James O’Shaughnessy in the fifth-round of the 2015 NFL Draft. O’Shaughnessy comes from a small school in Illinois State, something our own Lyle Graversen wrote extensively about before the draft (heads up, Graversen sees the future).

    At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, O’Shaughnessy is a tantalizing prospect. However, it’s important to understand he will probably come along slowly and start on special teams. O’Shaughnessy played in a similar role in college, something he discussed on Sunday with ESPN writer Adam Teicher.

    Apparently, he takes the role seriously.

    "“Earlier in the season in our one (defeat), I chose not to go in on a kickoff and I told myself if we had an opportunity like that, I wasn’t going to let it happen again because they ended up scoring on that kickoff,’’ O’Shaughnessy said of Illinois State’s regular-season loss to Northern Iowa. “We lost the game.“I wasn’t going to allow that to happen again. Obviously we were up at that point and I wanted to make sure I made a play, which I did. I’ll take the tackle, but I kind of wish I had a little bit of a better-form tackle so I didn’t knock myself out.”"

    O’Shaughnessy is also talking with Kelce about getting his feet wet at the NFL level. Kelce is bigger and faster, but both play the game with good hands and a like mindset, trying to get down the seam and create chaos. To this point, Kelce has been giving basic advice to the rookie leading into minicamp, per Arrowhead Pride.

    "“Travis has been around and he’s helped me out quite a bit this past week giving me pointers here and there and calming my nerves,” O’Shaughnessy said."

    O’Shaughnessy will be one of the players I keep a close eye on in training camp. He seems like the type of guy who could become a force with some polish.

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