There were two reasons why I was excited when tight end Travis Kelce officially announced he was returning to the Kansas City Chiefs for next season. Of course, there was the sentimental reaction. I was glad to hear that one of Kansas City’s all-time favorite players would be out on the field again, in a Chiefs uniform and not playing for another team.
But even more importantly, I was glad Kelce was returning because it meant the Chiefs would have a key piece back at what I think is Kansas City’s worst position group on the entire roster: tight end.
Kelce’s return means the need at TE has been downgraded from ‘immediate’ to ‘impending,’ so the position isn’t the most pressing need heading into next month’s NFL Draft—but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t still be a key area to focus on.
At this stage, I think it’s clear that Kelce’s successor isn’t currently on Kansas City’s roster, which means the draft could be the perfect opportunity to find their future TE1.
The Chiefs’ tight end problem isn’t solved
Outside of Kelce, Kansas City’s tight end options are bleak. Noah Gray’s productivity declined last season, Jared Wiley had essentially zero impact, as did Robert Tonyan, who is a free agent now anyway.
Gray, who seemed geared up to take a larger role last season after an apparent breakout in 2024, regressed across the board. He had just 21 catches for 178 yards, the fewest of each he’s had since his rookie season. For the first time in his NFL career, he didn’t catch a single touchdown, and his success rate (32.4%) and catch percentage (56.8%) were both career lows.
The 26-year-old signed a three-year, $18 million contract ($10M guaranteed) with the Chiefs in 2024, but he was on the bubble as a potential cap casualty just three weeks ago. With cap hits of $7 million coming up, that’s a lot to pay for a receiving TE that ranked 56th in the league at his position in total yards.
Wiley is entering his third season in Kansas City, and he's yet to make an impact. That’s not all his fault—he suffered an ACL injury that ended his rookie season in November 2024—but he was inactive for most of last season, and he has just two career catches so far. Could he be the answer? It would be a risk to assume he is.
The Chiefs chose not to sign a TE in free agency, which means the draft is the next place they’ll look to find one. So, who could they get?
Where the Chiefs should look in the draft
I think it’s unlikely that the Chiefs will use any of their first four picks (No. 9, 29, 40, and 74 overall) on a tight end. There are just too many other, greater needs elsewhere. So that rules out Kenyon Sadiq and Eli Stowers, ranked No.15 and 53 on PFF’s draft big board, respectively. The fourth and fifth rounds are where I think the Chiefs should make their move, and two names stand out.
The first is Justin Joly from South Carolina. He’s a smaller TE—at 6' 3", 251 lbs—but he’s also athletic, has a good catch radius, and positions himself well in open space when the quarterback scrambles – something that has made the Patrick Mahomes-Kelce combination so prolific. v has Joly as his third-ranked TE in the draft, and PFF’s big board suggests Joly would likely be available when the Chiefs pick at 109 (fourth round).
Then, there is Eli Raridon from Notre Dame, a player who Arrowhead Addict draft expert Price Carter has Kansas City taking in the fifth round (pick No. 148) in his latest mock draft. He’s a solid blocker, a good receiving option, incredibly strong, and, as a bonus, he grew up a Chiefs fan too. Raridon is Kiper’s fourth TE overall.
The Chiefs can’t repeat last year’s mistake
What I don’t want to see is the Chiefs treat tight end the same way they treated the running back position before the 2025 season. The Chiefs chose not to make any meaningful additions at RB, either in free agency or in the draft, and they suffered the consequences as a result.
The Chiefs were insipid running the ball last season, outside of Hunt’s effectiveness on 3rd or 4th & short. That, plus the lack of talent on their roster, meant Kansas City had to pay top dollar for an immediate solution in Kenneth Walker to fix it. Paying Walker instead of having a rookie-contract RB to turn to could have been the monetary difference between keeping Trent McDuffie or Jaylen Watson or letting them walk.
The Chiefs can’t make that same mistake again. The best solution is to make a decent investment at TE now to stop them from having to break the bank for an emergency solution later.
Taking a TE this year gives that player time to develop, learn the system, and share a locker room with one of the greatest tight ends to play the game. It makes too much sense not to do it. Kelce’s return means the Chiefs don’t have to invest a premium pick at TE, but his looming retirement and the lack of successors on KC’s roster mean bringing in a future tight end should be a key goal.