Kansas City Chiefs: Post-Draft 53-Man Roster Prediction
By Shade Piper
Tight End
Made the Cut: Travis Kelce, Deon Yelder, John Lovett
Notable Snubs: Blake Bell, Joe Fortson
Travis Kelce is really the only player here who has his spot on lock. I went with Deon Yelder and John Lovett at the two back up tight end slots.
A lot of people seem to think Blake Bell will get one of the backup tight end spots, but he is 27, going into his fifth season, and has only 30 career receptions for 357 yards and zero touchdowns. With these numbers in four seasons, I’d take my chances with a younger tight end and get him out there to see what he can do.
With this in mind, Deon Yelder and John Lovett made the cut. Yelder is a second-year tight end who spent last season on the practice squad, so he is even less proven than Bell, but he is also younger and hasn’t had the opportunities that Bell has had yet. We will never know how good he will be until he gets his shot and 2019 could be his shot.
More. Tight End Depth Chart After Draft. light
Next is John Lovett. He is a college quarterback who converted to a tight end and is extremely athletic and physical. He could be used as a utility guy as well, potentially getting snaps at fullback or running back if needed. Because of Lovett’s versatility, I almost even dropped the running back depth down to three players to save a roster spot.
I already mentioned Blake Bell, but the other snub worth mentioning is Joe Fortson. He was a big 6’6″ 230-pound wide receiver that the Chiefs signed as a UDFA to convert to tight end.
Because of his wide receiver experience, he could have the ability to create mismatches with his speed. I was unable to find his 40-time to verify this mismatch speed, but either way, he has the build to make it as a tight end,
The reason he is not on my 53-man roster is because of his college stats, or lack thereof. In two seasons he had only 30 receptions for 380 yards and five touchdowns. These numbers aren’t much to get excited about, but him spending a year on the practice squad improving and developing as a tight end isn’t out of the equation.