Every year, the Kansas City Chiefs' front office parades a new group of undrafted free-agent signings and tryout players in front of coaches and staff. This year, the total was an astounding 108 prospects. Yet the vast majority fade from view before training camp even gets moving.
John Michael Gyllenborg is not like most, and that's not just because he grew up a Chiefs fan in Kansas City.
To say Gyllenborg's path to the Chiefs' roster is unlikely is to undersell the drama. As an all-district basketball player at Rockhurst High School, he'd never actually played the sport before his senior season. And even when he finally agreed to play, he was limited by injury. But coaches saw something in his potential, and five years later, he's in an NFL camp with his favorite team.
"Well, I grew up here in K.C. and played every sport growing up except football because my grandpa didn't want me to," Gyllenborg recently told reporters at the team's rookie minicamp. "And then got to Rockhurst, and when Coach [Kelly] Donohoe came in my senior year, it was also COVID. He just was basically like, 'Come out and have fun with the boys. You'll love it.'
"I just went out thinking, 'Okay, this is for fun.' I'm still focused on basketball or baseball or whatever, and ended up playing three games and got hurt. But Wyoming stuck around and offered me, and, you know, that's how that all kind of happened."
Three games. That's it. The connection between Donohoe and then-Cowboys head coach Craig Bohl made the recruitment possible, but Gyllenborg says they loved the ceiling that he had with his height, basketball background, and athletic skill set.
"Coach [Craig] Bohl, who was the coach at the time, was really tight with Donohoe. And I think they just liked the upside I provided. You know, I wasn't very good or anything like that," said Gylleborg with a laugh. "But they liked the upside that I provided as a tall, lengthy, fast guy. Donohoe, through his encouragement, was like, 'You should go do this. You have the upside.' And here we are today."
After developing into an NFL-ready tight end at Wyoming, Gyllenborg now finds himself inside the Chiefs facility. After years of watching games from the fans' perspective, he said he has to remember he's at work to keep his emotions in check.
"It's surreal. I have to kind of level myself out a little bit, especially out on the field, like with all the coaches and everything, wearing the uniform and stuff," Gyllenborg said. "It's really cool. But, you know, this is football. It's the most competitive sport ever. So you can't let your feelings get to you. You got to remember, we're still out here playing ball.
"I think I've gone to a game like every year since Andy Reid got here—Coach Reid now," he adds with a laugh. "I was at a couple games this last season. So, again, it's really awesome."
The Chiefs always had the inside track with Gyllenborg, if he went unselected in the draft, given his fandom. They also were on the record with pre-draft interest. But it wasn't always obvious that he would default to the Chiefs if not for the ideal competitive opportunity in front of him.
"Yeah, when we had to make a decision quick after the draft, and at that point, knowing that the Chiefs were on the table, I was like, 'Well, yeah, I'm going to go to the Chiefs,'" he said. "But I also have to kind of separate my bias at that point and understand I've got to do what's best for me. So, even while separating that, the Chiefs were always the best option for me. You know, the offense loves tight ends. And they wanted me really bad. And obviously I wanted to be here. So it was pretty much a no-brainer for me."
Tight end is an intriguing position for the Chiefs going forward, with Travis Kelce's potential retirement and the lack of any proven long-term depth behind him. Gyllenborg's unlikely journey might have found another serendipitous chapter with the "right time, right place" opportunity in front of him.
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