Travis Kelce says Noah Gray is ‘years ahead of being a rookie’

The Kansas City Chiefs have a window open to them for the next few years that nearly every other team in the NFL would trade anything to have, and much of that hangs on the dynamism of the current offense. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that the front office stated at the beginning of the offseason that they intended to get Travis Kelce a bit more help and rest this offseason with a key acquisition in order to lighten the load at tight end.

A few months later, the team has brought back Blake Bell to serve as a veteran blocker and drafted Noah Gray to provide the real backup potential for snaps in which Kelce is not on the field.

Kelce has shown no signs of slowing down by any means with yet another All-Pro season in ’20, a season that included several career high marks, but it’s also true that he will be 32-years-old in October. It also doesn’t help that the NFL just lengthened the season by another regular season game. In short, the Chiefs are relying on Kelce to stay healthy and productive for 20 or so games at a point where most players are either retired or hitting a wall.

Travis Kelce has plenty of praise for Noah Gray.

In order to expand that window, then, it’s going to be important to give Kelce a bit more rest during the regular season. It also doesn’t hurt to have security at the position overall and another young pass catcher who can turn heads. So far, Kelce says that’s exactly what Gray is doing in his first minicamps for the Chiefs as a rookie.

During Tuesday’s press sessions, Kelce answered questions about a number of topics and was very encouraging in his praise for Gray’s acclimation to the NFL.

“One of Coach Reid’s big things is to bring energy and show your personality and so far he’s done both,” said Kelce. “It’s been a lot of fun so far. 83’s got a very unique way of understanding football. He’s years ahead of being a rookie, which is awesome. You can give him pointers and he’s running with everything.

“He’s absorbing all the information that the coaches are giving him that he’s hearing from other players and he’s having a lot of successful out there on the field. He’s definitely going to help us this year.”

While fans should likely keep any expectations of dominant two-TE sets to a minimum for the ’21 season, Gray can provide an under-the-radar target for the offense when Kelce is taking a breather during a series and/or provide Patrick Mahomes with another weapon that defenses will likely leave fairly open.

If Gray can simply help Kelce pace himself for another long, productive season, he will have already done his job and whatever he can add in the stat sheet is going to be icing on the cake. Gray’s coaches at Duke raved about his pro-readiness, and Kelce makes it sound as if the transition couldn’t be going any smoother.