The most pressing post-draft roster concerns for the Kansas City Chiefs
By Scott Loring
4.) We’re to that point where you start to realize that, when you’re picking apart problem areas for a Super Bowl Champion, the list is shorter than you think. But here we are, pinpointing TE2 as a position in question for the 2020 Chiefs.
Travis Kelce is on top of the world as the game’s premier tight end. Any doubt about Kelce’s place in those ranks were put to bed when he went bananas in the playoffs during the Chiefs Super Bowl run, racking up 19 catches for 207 yards and 4 touchdowns in the Chiefs’ three playoff games (compared to that other guy in San Francisco who totaled 8/71/0).
The problem area is that the Chiefs don’t have much to speak of at the position after Kelce, who turns 31 after the start of the 2020 season. And though he has been remarkably reliable, missing just two starts in the last five seasons, we all saw in the 2018 playoffs what happens when Kelce is suddenly out of the lineup.
The Chiefs need someone capable of stepping in as a viable threat should they have to play for any length of time without their All-Pro tight end. A backup doesn’t have to play like Travis Kelce—that’s neither fair nor realistic—but he does have to be able to grasp the playbook, get open, and become a comfortable option for Mahomes in the passing game.
The team acquired veteran Ricky Seals-Jones, who is certainly an upgrade over the departed Blake Bell, and will be the team’s second tight end from the moment they head to camp. The 6’5″, 245 lb. Seals-Jones just turned 25 years old, so he still has some potential to flourish as a pass catcher with Mahomes as his quarterback. He will be the most reliable target the team has had in that role since Demetrius Harris in 2018. But Seals-Jones will have a very limited time to work with Reid, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and Mahomes before the season begins.
Furthermore, Seals-Jones will really only be serviceable in the slot. The Chiefs had some issues in short-yardage and goal-line sets in 2019, and it almost certainly cost them a win in Tennessee in Week 10. This offense still needs someone who can perform as an inline blocker, should they choose to utilize more two-TE sets.
Reid has been very creative with tight ends in his career, as some may recall his creative (albeit moderately constipated) three-TE sets earlier in his regime with the Chiefs. Kansas City could open up some new wrinkles in their offense if they so choose. The Chiefs still have Deon Yelder, Nick Keizer, and John Lovett on the roster, and any one of them could potentially join the team as a third tight end.