Let's make a couple of assumptions from the start about the tight end position for the Kansas City Chiefs. First, Travis Kelce feels like he will return for a 14th NFL season, so let's go with the idea that he'll be entrenched, once again, as a favorite target of Patrick Mahomes as TE1. Second, for our purposes, let's lean into life after Noah Gray.
Remember, all signs point toward a return for Kelce than the opposite direction. His discussion of next year's chances or roster with a personal pronoun is a good tell. Constant rumors about his continued enthusiasm and passion for the game. The fact that Chris Jones seems to think he's returning as well. These all play in favor of Kelce making another run instead of retiring.
Gray has been with the Chiefs for the last five seasons, since the team made him its fifth-round choice in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Duke. After two-thirds of a three-year extension, however, Gray is not only more expensive than ever—with a cap hit of $7 million—but his steady production behind Kelce hit a wall in 2025. Instead of building on a breakout year in 2024, in which he caught 40 passes and had 5 touchdowns, Gray slipped to the lowest totals since his career season with 21 catches for 178 yards (or 11 yards per game) with zero broken tackles and 3 drops.
Daniel Bellinger of the New York Giants is hitting free agency as a tight end with intriguing upside.
All of this brings the tight end position into focus. The Chiefs don't know what they have in Jared Wiley after two seasons, which makes it reckless to forgo the position in free agency. The responsible approach is either to swallow the cap hit for Gray and hope he reverses course on a miserable 2025—and that goes for plenty of people on the Chiefs last year—or cut ties and bring in a fresh face.
That's where Daniel Bellinger comes in. The New York Giants made Bellinger their fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of San Diego State, but an early eye injury cost him some playing time, and from there, Brian Daboll and his staff never seemed to think much of Bellinger despite short samples pointing to the contrary.
Last year, Bellinger had only 19 catches, but he averaged an eye-popping 15.1 yards/catch in the process. Buried behind Theo Johnson, Bellinger has begged for scraps in the Giants' offense despite having great hands (3 drops in 4 years) with an impressive athletic profile. Even more, Bellinger has bulked up considerably since joining the NFL and has become a solid overall blocker.
The Chiefs need to improve blocking at the position as it is, but they have even greater concerns at tight end given Kelce's age. A multi-year deal with Bellinger would not only create some security at the position for the present and future, but it would also alleviate any desperation going into the draft to reach for some further help.
Bellinger offers the Chiefs a nice upside play in free agency at an inexpensive price—Spotrac has him at $2.5 million. Still, an escalating cap or other interested bidders could bring that to $4M annually. Bellinger is also a very reliable player who raises the floor as an all-around performer at a position filled with question marks. There's also very real value in having Bellinger learn from Kelce to see what can be unlocked there.
Chiefs' coaches love Gray, and they should, but the price tag is rather steep for declining production. The Chiefs need more certainty at tight end than they have now, but waiting for the draft could be a real mistake. Depending on their willingness to weather Gray's cap hit or their confidence level in Wiley, Bellinger would be an ideal wingman for Kelce in '26.