It’s been quite a ride for Travis Kelce and the Chiefs, who face off Saturday against the Texans with a berth to their seventh consecutive AFC Conference Championship game on the line.
Speculation that the star tight end will retire if the Chiefs three-peat has been mounting, and as the team warmed up on the field at Arrowhead Stadium ahead of the divisional round contest, ESPN broadcaster Scott Van Pelt invited Travis’ brother, Jason, to reflect on all his sibling has accomplished and what’s still left to prove.
“If [Travis] isn’t satisfied yet, I don’t know that he’s ever going to be,” Jason quipped.
“Maybe that is the answer,” Van Pelt responded.
Jason continued, taking on a more thoughtful tone: “The thing that I’ve really enjoyed watching — I mean, obviously, the receptions and all the stats and everything of his career culminating into some of the most absurd numbers you’ve ever seen is impressive — but I love just watching the whole ride from a youthful, energetic young kid who is excited to be out there and happy to be realizing his dream, to now being this, like, composed veteran presence.
“You’ve seen the whole career arc … and I just couldn’t be more proud of where he is now — the leader he is. You can see how much the team gravitates towards him and how he’s really embraced that role. He’s also got a fantastic beard, which I’m really proud of,” Jason said.
The beard, much like the career, blossomed in time.
Travis, a third-round pick by the Chiefs in 2013, graded as the second- or third-best tight end in his draft class, NFL.com reported at the time.
Scouts noted his skills as a run-blocker but expressed concern over the fact that he had just one legitimate season of production in college.
“He isn’t a tremendous athlete, but he does a lot of things very well,” reads one report, per NFL.com.
Now over a decade later, it’s safe to say that everything before the comma can be written off.
Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but it’s hard to imagine the Chiefs would be where they are today — three wins away from their fourth Super Bowl in the past six years — if it wasn’t for all No. 87 brings to the table.
“It’s just been really, really fun to see his maturation as a player, as a teammate and as an individual,” Jason said Saturday. “It’s a pleasure to watch.”
