Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce is taking a different approach, and it involves working with top draft picks.
If you’re looking for a positive sign for the Kansas City Chiefs, look no further than Travis Kelce. The Chiefs’ star tight end supposedly considered retiring during the offseason, but now that the Chiefs are done with their draft, it’s becoming obvious that Kelce is going all-in on what will likely be his final season in Kansas City.
The latest indicator of this is Kelce’s post-draft comments. He raved about new edge rusher R Thomas Mason, calling Mason a “freakish” athlete, and he’s even started working with defensive tackle Peter Woods of Clemson, according to a report from Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star.
Kelce has been watching clips of the Chiefs rookies with his brother Jason in their “New Heights” podcast, and both were impressed by Woods. That’s not surprising, but what was unusual was that Travis immediately spotted something that needed to be cleaned up.
“You gotta watch that left arm, though, that left arm gets a little hot,” Kelce said as he showed an immediate knack for shifting into coach speak. “Right here, the left arm gets (up), that’s head and neck area. Peter. We’ve got to stay away from the head and neck area. We’ve got to swat that ball. We’ve got to work that technique better.”
The tight end wasn’t just watching Woods’ arm and hand technique, however. He doesn’t get much praise as a blocker, but Kelce knows what to watch when it comes to taking on a player like Woods, who’s 6’2” 298 pounds.
“Feet look good to be that big too man, I like it, nice and quick,” Kelce said.
Kelce hasn’t done any of this work in person and on the field, at least not according to any reports. But it’s clear he’s itching to get back to work from his comments with both Woods and Mason.
This is unusual, to say the least, but it makes sense when you look at the timeline of Kelce’s career. He stated right after the Kansas City’s 6-11 season that he “didn’t want to go out like that,” and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to change that.
Kelce was once receiving tight end whose focus was often on his individual stats, but that changed as his rapport with quarterback Patrick Mahomes grew. Now it’s shifting again, and players like Woods will be the beneficiaries if they’re willing to apply the lessons Kelce is willing to share.