Travis Kelce is returning for at least one more season. He will turn 37 years old in the first half of the year. The Kansas City Chiefs will eventually have to find their heir apparent at the position. However, K.C. is better served to avoid doing that this year in the NFL Draft.
Based on how the Chiefs' offense is currently constructed, other factors need to be accounted for first. The history of tight ends producing right away as pass catchers at the NFL level is scarce, as we have seen for years. Plus, Kansas City needs any changes to the tight end room to fill a different aspect.
Player snaps and usage issues have already plagued Kansas City
Kelce's snaps have mixed between inline, slot, and wide alignments for years. With varied alignments, integrating a new pass-catching tight end into the equation becomes messy. On one hand, Kansas City may be adjusting the offensive attack to being more downhill. The Chiefs' addition of running back Kenneth Walker III and the recovery of Patrick Mahomes present an opportunity for more balance.
At the same time, usage questions have already surrounded Kansas City in recent years. Tyquan Thornton was arguably the Chiefs' most trusted wide receiver in the first half of last season. He saw an unnecessary decrease in chances as 2025 went on, though. A lack of true chances for Jalen Royals near the end of his rookie season also raised eyebrows. Even some usage questions over the years have extended to which running back is seeing more snaps.
If the Chiefs already struggle to measure and time up when their best options are on the field together, adding a pass-catching tight end places another square into a round hole in the offensive puzzle. Kansas City is better off deepening the foundation at wide receiver moving forward. Waiting until Kelce is officially done appears to be the better course of action when addressing a pass-catching tight end.
Immediate production for tight ends is rare outside of truly elite rookies
There is definitely not a Brock Bowers or even a Kyle Pitts in this tight end draft class. Kenyon Sadiq will be the first tight end off the board. Back during the college football season, many mock drafts had Sadiq going to the Chiefs in the first round. It is still possible that Kansas City could be bold and take him at nine overall if they are served a doomsday scenario.
That feels a bit risky with how vital that selection is for Kansas City. The Chiefs have not had a top-10 selection in so long. Finding a potential needle mover is more pressing. K.C. cannot treat this as a luxury-type choice.
And quite frankly, Sadiq did not produce to the levels some draft evaluators were expecting in 2025. Explosive gains were more hit or miss inside the Oregon Ducks' offense for him. With the history of tight ends not immediately providing results as rookies, the notion of taking one early is unwarranted. In the rare cases of getting that massive jump in production right away, a tight end prospect generally has to prove he can do so for multiple seasons in college.
The only tight end aspect worth adding for Chiefs in 2026
If I were the Chiefs, there is only one way in which I draft a tight end. It does not occur until the final three rounds on draft weekend. And most of all, this incoming tight end is strictly going to elevate the blocking prowess of the offense.
This allows Kelce to still do his thing at a similar pace to the last couple of seasons. Kansas City can continue to fortify their wide receiver spot while hoping to elevate the pass-catching options. The Chiefs can hope to improve or match the blocking results they are already getting from Noah Gray. And if the Chiefs are truly adjusting to a more downhill attack, a blocking tight end serves more of a purpose in the upcoming season.