The Kansas City Chiefs know that Travis Kelce is closer to the end of his career than to the begininng of it. That's why trying to find his successor sooner rather than later would be a wise decision.
The Chiefs haven't operated that way in recent offseasons though. Even with Kelce set to turn 37 years old in October and potentially entering the final year of his career, the Chiefs didn't address the tight end position in free agency or the draft.
There still could be a solution though. Ben Solak of ESPN proposed a trade where the Chiefs send a third-round pick in next year's draft to the Chicago Bears in exchange for tight end Cole Kmet and a fifth-round draft pick in 2027.
"This is a strong offer, but Kansas City likely has the biggest tight end need in the league. Travis Kelce plays much more slot receiver than true tight end, while Noah Gray and Jared Wiley have not moved the needle behind him. As the Chiefs commit to a better rushing attack, they need skill position players who can block. Kmet can reconnect with coordinator Eric Bieniemy and adds a much-needed dimension as a traditional Y tight end."
ESPN throws out Cole Kmet trade proposal for Chiefs
The funny thing here is that Solak doesn't even touch on that Kelce is nearly done playing, just that he fills more of a receiver role for Kansas City. Either way, a third-round pick would be a steep asking price but Kmet could be a nice addition to the Chiefs' offense and potentially a new favorite target for Patrick Mahomes.
It is worth noting, however, that Courtney Cronin, the Bears beat reporter for ESPN, stated in the article that Kmet probably isn't going anywhere because Chicago hasn't been interested in trading him. But with Colston Loveland taking over as the TE1 last year, Kmet could become expendable and the Chiefs would make sense as a landing spot.
For one, Kelce is nearing the end of his career, which we touched on. But the Eric Bieniemy connection is something else worth noting plus working with Andy Reid would be a big plus for Kmet as well.
The Chiefs have not been able to find a true successor to Kelce but Kmet could absolutely be that for them. It'd take a Day 2 pick to land him but that feels worth it if that could actually be on the table.
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