While the short-term news at the tight end position is celebratory for the Kansas City Chiefs, with the official return of Travis Kelce for a 14th season, the truth is that the long-term view is cause for concern. Kelce seems likely to retire after the '26 campaign. Noah Gray has been discussed as a cut candidate for his disproportional cap hit after a disappointing season in '25. Bob Tonyan is a free agent, and Jared Wiley is a complete wild card after two years in the league.
Perhaps that's why the Chiefs have been actively visiting with some of the tight end prospects expected to go in the middle rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft. The Chiefs have already met with Georgia's Oscar Delp, and now they're focused on another, with a reported visit with N.C. State's Justin Joly on the schedule.
Joly enjoyed a very production run with the Wolfpack, with 92 catches for 1,150 yards and 11 touchdowns over the last two seasons. Joly also was named Tight End MVP at this year's Senior Bowl, and the Chiefs always seem to appreciate strong performers there. Joly has had visits with several teams already, with interest from the Lions, Buccaneers, Texans, and Eagles at the Combine.
The Chiefs are spending time with some of the better tight end prospects in this year's draft class.
For the Chiefs to be able to add a productive pass catcher at tight end while Kelce is still around would be a significant boost to his learning curve. It would also complicate the picture with Gray around at at $7M cost against the cap. But that's another problem for another time. The Chiefs are clearly interested in the potential of such an addition on the second or third days of the draft.
Gray was a nice find in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, but the Chiefs have only drafted one TE since then, and Wiley hasn't made any discernible impact since being selected in 2024. Jake Briningstool is also around after being stashed on injured reserve for the '25 season as a former rookie free agent.
It's possible that Kelce looks older and the rest of the position looks uninspired in '26, so the selection of Joly (or Delp or someone like them) is a good way for the offense to protect itself against those concerns while gaining upside for the long term.