With Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce beginning to approach the end of his career, a promising rookie could develop into Andy Reid’s next Y-Iso tight end.
TCU v Colorado / Dustin Bradford/GettyImages
The Kansas City Chiefs offseason will likely be remembered for their offensive acquisitions, particularly in the passing game.
After ranking 15th in points scored during the 2023 regular season, scoring 21.8 points per game in 2023, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach signed veteran wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown in free agency and drafted Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. With the two wideouts joining second-year wide receiver Rashee Rice in the starting lineup, Kansas City is hopeful their redesigned wide receiver corps will yield a better output than their 2023 offensive unit.
While the Chiefs new wide receivers will undoubtedly make an impact, Kansas City could find unexpected production from the tight end position.
Chiefs rookie tight end could be Travis Kelce’s replacement
Arrowhead Report’s Joshua Brisco and Jordan Foote highlighted Chiefs rookie tight end Jared Wiley as a player to watch when the team begins training camp in St. Joseph, Mo.
The Chiefs selected the TCU tight end with the No. 131 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Wiley won’t have a significant statistical year, especially since he buried on the depth chart behind future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce and veteran tight ends Irv Smith Jr. and Noah Gray. Still, Wiley could thrive as a matchup nightmare in situational roles.
For the majority of the past decade, tight end Kelce has thrived in a Y-Iso alignment in head coach Andy Reid’s offense. Kelce will once again serve as the centerpiece of the Chiefs offense in 2024, but the 34-year-old is inching closer to the end of his career.
Since logging a career-high 993 offensive snaps (95 percent) in his first season with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the future Hall of Fame tight end has seen his snap share steadily decline. Kelce’s snap share fell from 95 percent in 2018 to 93 percent in 2019, then to 86 percent in 2020 and 82 percent in 2021. His snap count decreased to 80 percent in 2022, despite appearing in a career-high 17 games. Last season, Kelce was on the field for just 77 percent of the team’s offensive snaps.
As Kelce’s career begins to wind down, Wiley could develop into his role. The 6-foot-6 tight end has the size and athleticism to eventually replace Kelce in Kansas City’s offense, and his experience as a former quarterback could help him develop chemistry with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Wiley had to learn a new system each season during his five-year collegiate career, which has served him well in picking up the Chiefs offensive scheme. Kelce praised the rookie after Kansas City’s mandatory minicamp.
“He’s got a lot of upside,” Kelce said, h/t Sports Illustrated. “Very comfortable, smart guy. I would say he’s a lot further along than I was as a rookie in terms of just understanding the offense and really seeing the field. He’s trusting what he’s seeing right now and I’ll tell you what, [Patrick Mahomes and Carson Wentz], the quarterbacks, are on time with it. It’s fun to watch him kind of take off and get more comfortable out there.”
Wiley recorded 47 receptions for 520 yards and eight touchdowns in his final collegiate season. He finished his collegiate career with 90 receptions for 1,013 yard and 15 touchdowns.