Are the Kansas City Chiefs targeting Travis Kelce's replacement in NFL Draft?

Credit: Julia Kapros-USA TODAY Sports

With Travis Kelce having hinted at retirement being in his near future, it looks like the Kanas City Chiefs could be targeting his potential replacement in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Aside from quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a case could be made that Travis Kelce is the greatest player in Kansas City Chiefs history. The nine-time Pro Bowler leads the franchise in receiving yards and barring a season-ending injury in 2024, he should pass team great Tony Gonzalez for receptions and touchdowns in the first half of next season.

Travis Kelce age: 34 years old

Furthermore, he has been a massive part of their three Super Bowl wins as one of the locker room’s most prominent leaders and even took a discount rate in his recent contract extension. However, the good times can’t last forever, and Travis Kelce has been open about the idea of getting out of the sport sooner rather than later.

It seems the organization is taking those comments more seriously than ever, and with the Chiefs legend only having two years left on his contract, it looks like they could be scouting the player Kelce could mentor with one of their selections in this month’s NFL Draft.

Among the team’s top 30 visits ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, Kansas City has reportedly used four of those visits on a quartet of tight ends. Iowa’s Erick All, Penn State’s Theo Johnson, Texas’ Ja’Tavion Sanders, and Kansas State’s Ben Sinnott.

Now, it must be noted that none of the four TE prospects are seen as first-round picks in this year’s event. However, Johnson and Sanders are seen as top 100 players on some draft boards before the event. The Kansas City Chiefs have the 32nd, 64th, 95th, 131st, 159th, 173rd, 221st pick in this year’s draft.

Johnson has a similar build and potential to Kelce if some of the issues in his game can be addressed, however, Sanders has the big play and game-breaker potential immediately that has made Kelce a Chiefs legend.