Travis Kelce is back for a 14th season, but the Chiefs are still staring at the same uncomfortable question that hangs over everything at tight end: what comes next?
That uncertainty is what has so many Kansas City fans on edge. Kelce was again one of the best players at his position in 2025, and there’s plenty of reason to think he can still deliver at a high level in 2026. But the position is too important, and the potential drop-off too steep, for the Chiefs to feel settled about the future.
On paper, the concern is easy to understand. Kansas City didn’t make any investments at tight end, so the group behind Kelce is built around an aging star who is likely to retire after the season and veteran Noah Gray as TE2. After that, the depth chart gets thin fast, with former fourth-round pick Jared Wiley and undrafted hopefuls Jake Briningstool, Tre Watson, and John Michael Gyllenborg all fighting for spots.
Still, the usual storyline about tight end development may be too rigid. The position has long been treated like one that demands patience, with elite production supposedly taking years to arrive.
But recent draft classes have started to chip away at that idea. In fact, the last five first-round tight ends have all produced at least 600 receiving yards as rookies.
That matters for Kansas City because if the post-Kelce era arrives with a hole at the position, recent history says a premium draft pick can make an immediate difference.
Kyle Pitts was the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and arrived in Atlanta looking like a once-in-a-generation prospect. He backed that up with 1,026 receiving yards as a rookie, the most by a tight end in 50 years, since Mike Ditka in 1961. Pitts has since been rewarded with a lucrative extension, a clear sign the Falcons see him as a centerpiece in their offense.
Dalton Kincaid followed in 2023 and stepped right into Buffalo’s passing game. The Utah product caught 73 passes for 673 yards and 2 touchdowns as a rookie, becoming a reliable weapon for Josh Allen from the start and pairing with Dawson Knox to give the Bills a strong tandem at the position.
Then came Brock Bowers in 2024, and he reset the bar entirely. The Raiders tight end put up 112 catches for 1,194 yards and 5 touchdowns, breaking Ditka’s rookie receiving mark of 1,076 while working with three different quarterbacks.
The 2025 class kept the trend going. Colston Loveland, taken 10th overall by Chicago, started slowly with just 11 catches in his first six games.
But he found his footing and became a major target for Caleb Williams, finishing with 58 receptions for 713 yards and 6 touchdowns. He added 12 catches for 193 yards in two postseason games, a strong finish that points toward a big second season.
Tyler Warren, selected No. 14 by Indianapolis, also answered the doubts that came with his draft slot. The Penn State tight end set the Colts’ franchise record for receiving yards by a rookie tight end, finishing with 76 catches for 817 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also showed off his versatility by lining up at halfback, fullback, and even wildcat quarterback.
None of that means the Chiefs are about to spend a first-round pick on a tight end in 2027. They’ll have other needs, and plenty can change between now and then.
But the bigger point is hard to miss: Kansas City does not need to have the next chapter at tight end fully mapped out already. The recent crop of rookie tight ends shows that when Kelce is gone, whenever that happens, the Chiefs can find real production without having to lock it in years in advance.
In Other News...
Travis Kelces Reported Honeymoon Plans Create One Huge Chiefs Question
Travis Kelces off-field life is already the sort of thing that can dominate a news cycle, and a new report has only added to the intrigue around what comes next. According to The U.S. Sun, Kelce and Taylor Swift are expected to marry in July 2026 and then head out on a lengthy honeymoon that would take them from the Caribbean to Europe, Asia, Australia and Hawaii, with stops reportedly including the Bahamas, Italy, Paris, the French Riviera, Croatia, Greece, Singapore, Fiji and Hawaii.
For the Chiefs, the obvious question is less about the itinerary than the timing. The reported plan would stretch for weeks and, if it holds, would leave Kelce trying to balance a major personal milestone with the kind of offseason routine that eventually has to point him back toward football, even if the couple is said to be keeping things quiet and largely off the grid along the way. [Read more 🡒]
Why Travis Kelce And Taylor Swift Still Mean Big Business For Chiefs
Taylor Swifts presence around the Chiefs has done more than dominate the pop-culture conversation. Since she began showing up at games after her relationship with Travis Kelce became public, the ripple effects have been hard to miss, from a broader television audience to a surge in interest around the team and its star tight end. Chiefs owner Clark Hunt has even pointed to the growth of the fan base, saying the club has become significantly more popular with women as Swifts profile around the franchise has grown.
The business side has been just as striking. Fanatics reported a massive jump in Kelce jersey sales after Swifts first appearance at Arrowhead, and one Chiefs-Bears game drew a huge audience while viewership among young female fans also climbed. For Kansas City, it has turned a celebrity romance into something much bigger than a headline, with the team still benefiting from the attention every time Swift is linked to the NFL stage. [Read more 🡒]
Prince William Had An Unexpected Chiefs Moment With Travis Kelce
Prince William made an unexpected stop in Chiefs country by joining Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce on their New Heights podcast, a crossover that gave the conversation a distinctly Kansas City flavor. The episode bounced from football to barbecue to the World Cup, with Travis doing his part to sell the city and its food scene while the prince listened in on a setting that felt a lot less formal than Buckingham Palace.
The lighter moments came with a familiar Chiefs touch, including a training camp joke that fit the Kelce brothers easygoing style. Prince William also said he would come to the United States for the World Cup final if England gets there, which added a little extra intrigue to a conversation that already had plenty of it. For Chiefs fans, it was the kind of offbeat cameo that makes you wonder what other surprises might come out of a podcast mic. [Read more 🡒]