What are the Chiefs offseason options at tight end?

The Demetrius Harris arrest puts the entire position of tight end in question behind Travis Kelce. Here’s a closer look at some options.

Recently, news broke that Demetrius Harris was arrested on suspicion of felony possession of marijuana. If Harris is indeed charged and convicted expected both the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL will take action. It got me thinking again about the team’s current situation at tight end. Behind the All-Pro performance of Travis Kelce, the position is a mixed bag of inconsistency and uncertainty. The Chiefs currently have:

• 84 Demetrius Harris
• 87 Travis Kelce
• 80 James O’Shaughnessy
• 88 Ross Travis

Lets take a quick assessment of each player:

Demetrius Harris

As just mentioned above, Harris was arrested for felony possession of marijuana. It’s too early to tell at this point what will happen. Harris may end up being fined or he could be cut and/or suspended. Let’s instead take a look at what Harris has done on the field.

Stats:

After three years and playing in 40 games Harris has managed  just 27 catches for 217 yards and 2 TDs. In 2016 Harris finished 8th in the NFL in total drops and second among tight ends with 6. This is despite Harris only having 31 total targets for a drop percentage of 19.4%.

Harris was brought on to the Chiefs as a project player having only played basketball in college. After three years in the league Harris does not appear to be developing. The more time on the field he’s had, the further he’s shown his inexperience and lack of technique. It may be time to move on or at the very least bring in some serious competition. Because whether the Chiefs want him to be a receiver or blocker, Harris ranks 63rd among all tight ends with at least 250 snaps.

James O’Shaughnessy & Ross Travis

I grouped these two together because both have shown very little in their short tenures with the Chiefs.

O’Shaughnessy was drafted in the 5th round of the 2015 draft by the Chiefs. So far appearing in 23 games being mostly used in 3 tight end sets and special teams. Coming out of college, O’Shaughnessy was seen mostly as essentially a “big WR”. In his limited playing time, he has proven to have sure hands and crisp routes, but lacks the lower body strength and technique to be a consistent in-line blocker.

Ross Travis is a project player in a similar mold to Harris and did not play college football. In his first season, Travis had 56 snaps mostly on offense, and managed 3 catches for 15 yards. It is far too early to tell what kind of player Travis may turn out to be. Travis may eventually work best as a receiving tight end who can box out smaller defenders.

Unfortunately, if the Chiefs do elect to sign a veteran free agent or draft a tight end and do not cut Harris, then Travis is the most likely man out. Though it may also be worth mentioning that Travis and Harris’s current deals both expire after 2018 with Travis becoming a restricted free agent.

Speaking of free agents…