Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is excited about his new running mate in the tight end room.
Chiefs rookie TE Noah Gray has been one of the early standouts this offseason, receiving praise from Patrick Mahomes, Eric Bieniemy, Andy Reid and now Kelce. It’s rare for a fifth-round pick to receive this amount of hype out of training camp and he’s done a good job to stay grounded and humble throughout.
Kelce, however, is ready to help push the Noah Gray hype train off the tracks.
“Oh yeah, he’s going to help us this year, man,” Kelce told reporters of Gray on Wednesday. “I can’t wait until the world sees what that guy can do, man. He’s doing an unbelievable job of learning this offense. There is so much that you have to do in this offense as a tight end and especially the move guy — and not just the Y tight end — but being the U. Your knowledge, you have be understanding what everyone is capable of doing — the running backs, the wide receivers, the fullbacks. Not only that but (you have to) know the tight end position.”
Gray’s early mastery of the position, from Kelce’s view, has to do with how he’s attacking the playbook since he’s arrived in Kansas City. He also feels that the rookie has done a good job taking coaching and taking advantage of all of his reps. From a bird’s eye view, it appears that Gray is doing everything right when it comes to his preparation.
“I think what Noah (Gray) is doing a great job of is getting in that playbook,” Kelce said. “And being able to go out there on the snap of the ball and play with confidence and play fast. From there, it’s just every rep — every rep you get you learn something. And you can watch other guys and figure out how you want to attack certain defenses with those reps. I think he’s doing a great job of just going to work here in training camp, and then trying to become the best football player he can be.”
Kelce has always had a natural feel for finding the soft spot in coverage. KC Star beat reporter Sam McDowell pointed out that Gray appears to have a similar type of feel for getting open. For Kelce, that natural feel is all about having a good understanding of the game and what the defense is doing on a snap-to-snap basis.
“It’s as simple as understanding the game,” Kelce said. “Understanding what the defense is presenting. When you understand the voids and the zones that they’re in, you understand where to go and where to be and when to be there. I think Noah (Gray) has a great feel for that. It’s something that you can try and teach, but you really have to get somebody that is confident in their ability to go out there and do it, right? That’s what Noah brings to the table — his confidence and his ability to be there and his accountability in that aspect.”
Gray’s confidence and understanding of the game are getting a lot of credit for his early success. Kelce also thinks that Gray’s past experiences playing quarterback — just like his own — gives him a better understanding of where he needs to be to help Patrick Mahomes out the most.
“I think he played a little quarterback in high school,” Kelce said. “Any time you’re back there and you’re reading defenses, you start to feel where you want guys to go, right? I was a quarterback, I wasn’t very good, but I understood where I wanted guys to be versus certain coverages. I think that has naturally just made me more comfortable when I see a certain defense, where I need to be and how I can make it easier on the quarterback to get there.”
Whatever is informing Gray’s rookie breakout, Kelce is excited for the fans in the Chiefs Kingdom to get a chance to see what the young tight end has to offer. It won’t be long now, with the first preseason game just 10 days away for Kansas City.
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