Insider Urges Chiefs to Trade Up in 1st Round for Travis Kelce’s Successor

There are several different positions the Kansas City Chiefs could opt to draft when they pick 31st overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. But ESPN’s Bill Barnwell thinks the defending Super Bowl champions could choose to draft based on value and do so by trading up in the first round to select a player that could eventually replace tight end Travis Kelce.

“Kansas City general manager Brett Veach & Co. could be looking for another receiver this time, but I wonder if this is the draft in which they target the player who ends up as the long-term replacement for Travis Kelce,” Barnwell wrote on April 3. “The future Hall of Famer is doing virtually unprecedented things for a tight end in his mid-30s, but he eventually has to slow down. Adding a second playmaker at tight end will only help an offense that loved playing out of 12 personnel a season ago.

“The Chiefs could stay put and grab a tight end without any question, but if they have a particular affinity for Michael Mayer (Notre Dame) or Dalton Kincaid (Utah), they might need to move up a few spots to beat the Jags (No. 24) and Cowboys (No. 26) to the punch.”

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Chiefs Could Capitalize on Historical Tight End Class

One of the strongest positions talent-wise and depth-wise in the 2023 NFL Draft is tight end. This is evident by NFL Media draft analyst Lance Zierlein calling it “one of the most promising tight end classes I’ve seen in a while.”

According to Zierlein’s article on March 28, four of this year’s top tight end prospects — Michael Mayer, Luke Musgrave, Dalton Kincaid, and Darnell Washington — are “worthy of going inside the first 40 picks.” That means we could see multiple tight ends selected in the first round for the first time since 2019 (Iowa teammates TJ Hockenson and Noah Fant were drafted on Day 1 that year).

Based on some of Kansas City’s largest needs on its roster, which include offensive tackle, defensive tackle, wide receiver, and safety, drafting a tight end wouldn’t qualify as a draft selection based on need, especially in the first round. Yet, drafting a tight end on Day 1 would make sense based on the talent at that position in this year’s draft class and the fact that Travis Kelce turns 34 in October.

Though Kelce is coming off of a season in which he registered a 110-1338-12 stat line, history shows regression is coming as he nears the end of his NFL career. Because of that, drafting another talented player at that position that could learn behind Kelce for 2-3 years before taking over as the TE1 in Kansas City is a possibility for the Chiefs in 2023.

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Chiefs Free Agency Tracker

Here is a list of the players the Chiefs have signed during free agency along with their contracts according to Over The Cap:

• OT Jawaan Taylor (4 years, $80 million)
• DE Charles Omenihu (2 years, $20 million)
• S Mike Edwards (1 year, $3 million)
• LB Drue Tranquill (1-year, $5 million)
• DT Tershawn Wharton (1 year, $2 million)
• OL Nick Allegretti (1-year, $2.5 million)
• OL Prince Tea Wanogho (tendered)
• TE Jody Fortson (tendered)
• P Tommy Townsend (tendered)
• QB Shane Buechele (tendered)
• DT Derrick Nnadi (1-year, $1.2 million)
• TE Blake Bell (1-year, $1.1 million)
• DT Byron Cowart (1-year, $1.08 million)
• DT Phil Hoskins (1-year, $940,000)
• S Deon Bush (1-year deal)

Here are the players that remain free agents:

• DE Frank Clark
• DE Carlos Dunlap
• DT Brandon Williams
• TE Jordan Franks
• WR Justin Watson
• RB Jerick McKinnon
• LB Darius Harris

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