2025 NFL Draft: When Should Chiefs Draft a Tight End?

Travis Kelce is one of the greatest tight ends to ever play the game. Some believe he is already the best to ever play the position. However, he's at the tail-end of his career, and the Kansas City Chiefs must consider drafting his future successor in this year's NFL Draft.

Kelce's decline began in 2023 when the Chiefs won their second consecutive Super Bowl in Las Vegas. While he was still an effective chain mover, the former third-round pick from Cincinnati began to lose his explosiveness as an open-field playmaker in run-after-catch situations. That bled significantly into last season as Noah Gray began to see more targets in the passing game.

There is a chance that Kelce's successor is on the roster already with Gray or second-year player Jared Wiley. However, in a strong group of tight end prospects in this year's draft class, there is a reasonable expectation that general manager Brett Veach will land Kelce's successor. It begs the question of how early he could select one.

The consensus top two prospects, Michigan's Colston Loveland and Penn State's Tyler Warren, would be terrific additions with the Chiefs No. 31 overall selection. Loveland offers a terrific pass-catching skill set that offers some shades of Kelce, while Warren, a projected Top 20 selection, would be a dream choice with an incredible combination of ball skills, versatility, and blocking ability.

Later in the draft, LSU's Mason Taylor, Texas' Gunner Helm, Oregon's Terrance Ferguson, and Miami's Elijah Arroyo are all possible Day Two choices. Taylor offers the most intrigue with a terrific receiving skill set and NFL DNA in his bones as the son of former Miami Dolphins legend Jason Taylor.

Some Day Three options include Clemson's Jake Briningstool, Georgia's Benjamin Yurosek, and Nebraska's Thomas Fidone II. This is the likely sweet spot for the Chiefs, based on their recent draft history. Since selecting Kelce in the third round of the 2013 draft, Kansas City has only selected a tight end in Rounds 4 and 5: James O'Shaughnessy (2015), Gray (2021), and Wiley (2024).

Could they draft one earlier this year? It would be a great time to do so, but Wiley could be the odd-man out in all of this, unless the Chiefs plan on carrying four tight ends in 2025.

If the Chiefs continue to follow their recent history, a tight end could be selected on the third day of the draft. They could target someone with a quality blocking skill set and high pass-catching ceiling, such as Jalin Conyers of Texas Tech or Jackson Hawes of Georgia Tech.

It would be remise of Veach to avoid a strong group early in the draft, however. If the best player available at No. 31, 63, or 66 is a tight end, that should be the selection, opening the door for a potential stout duo of a current rookie and Gray in 2026, should Kelce retire.

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