The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off mandatory minicamp on June 11 and superstar tight end Travis Kelce took the podium.
After being asked some of the more typical Kelce questions. How many more years do you plan on playing? Should we expect more acting spots in the coming months? What’s the latest with Taylor Swift?
Kelce was then asked about the new draft pick in his tight end room, TCU product Jared Wiley. And the future Hall of Famer had some intriguing thoughts on the 6-foot-6 rookie.
“I’ll tell you what, man. He’s got a lot of upside. He’s got a lot of upside,” Kelce said about Wiley. “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,” the veteran added glowingly. “He’s trusting what he’s seeing right now, and I’ll tell you what, 1-5 [Patrick Mahomes and] 11 [Carson Wentz] — the quarterbacks — are on time with it and it’s fun to watch him kind of take off and get more comfortable out there.”
Wiley was selected in round four of the 2024 draft. Coming out, Bleacher Report’s Derrik Klassen scouted him as an older prospect with “impressive size, speed and yards-after-the-catch ability.” He was also highlighted for his “graceful movement across the field” — a trait Kelce has been known for his entire career.
Chiefs Draft Pick Jared Wiley ‘Looks Like He Belongs’
Shortly after practice and Kelce’s press conference, Arrowhead Pride beat reporter Pete Sweeney shared his notes from the first day of minicamp. To no surprise, Wiley made the thread.
“TE Jared Wiley high-pointed a touchdown from Mahomes in [redzone] work,” Sweeney relayed. Adding: “Wiley looks like he belongs, so far.”
Within the tight end room, second stringer Noah Gray also “made an early diving catch” according to the KC media member. Although Wiley out-targeted Gray while Mahomes was on the field, three to two.
Kelce caught a touchdown as well, per Sweeney, but safety Bryan Cook also intercepted a pass that was tipped by the star TE. Kelce led the tight end room in targets from Mahomes, with seven.
Travis Kelce Says ‘You Can Always Bet on the Chiefs,’ Team Doesn’t Focus on Three-Peat
There was another quote that stood out from Kelce’s presser. Speaking to the historical unlikelihood of three straight championships, a reporter asked the tight end what he thinks about those odds.
“You can always bet on the Chiefs, baby,” Kelce responded with a smirk. But the follow-up question dove deeper.
“Have you guys verbalized ‘three-peat’ amongst yourselves as players?” The media member asked.
To which Kelce replied: “No, it’s really only come up when I got cameras in front of me.”
“I think everybody’s pretty motivated to keep the mentality that we had last year,” the team leader explained. “We didn’t get to back-to-back by always talking [about] back-to-back. We got there by trying to figure out what’s the best way to get better from last week. And yesterday.”
“I think that mentality is key in something like this,” Kelce concluded. “You can’t get too far down the road. Obviously, there’s a goal set but there’s a bunch of them that are set before that like trying to win the division, trying to get first place in the AFC — those kinds of things are more obtainable right now than thinking about the three-peat at the end of the year.”
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Travis Kelce Talks Up Chiefs Rookie at Minicamp: ‘Lot of Upside’