Kansas City Chiefs: 3 position battles heating up after preseason Week 1
By Shade Piper
Tight End
Players: Travis Kelce, Blake Bell, Deon Yelder, John Lovett, Nick Keizer
No one is concerned about Travis Kelce’s roster status. He is the best tight end in the NFL and his roster spot is pretty safe. After Kelce though, this has been one of the more concerning position groups for Chiefs fans during this offseason.
However, after the first preseason game, tight end is a position battle that is now likely already wrapping up. The Chiefs will likely roster three tight ends and, as mentioned above, Kelce will be the first-string tight end. After that, it looks like Blake Bell and Deon Yelder have created some separation and are close to being solidified as the second and third-string tight ends respectively.
Bell and Yelder had already begun to create some of this separation in practice, but both had some great moments during the game to increase their separation. Bell had a solid game with two receptions for 37 yards on three targets.
Yelder had some ups and downs during the game but finished with a pretty good game overall. He struggled with a couple of drops but recovered nicely with a muffed punt recovery on special teams and a touchdown reception shortly thereafter. He finished the game with two receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown but proving his worth on special teams might have been the most important development for him during the game.
Chase Litton's TD pass to @DeonYelder extends the @Chiefs lead to 31-10. #CINvsKC pic.twitter.com/KJiPFJAYQK
— NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2019
Lovett, who was probably the next guy in line for a shot at that third tight end spot, also had a couple of nice grabs during the game, but it was announced afterward that he sustained a shoulder injury. This will pretty well end his shot at the 53-man roster for this season, but after spending a year developing on the practice squad he will have a great opportunity to make the team next year.
David Wells was another guy who had a shot at the third tight end spot but was waived earlier in the week. Wells being waived and Lovett’s injury leaves Bell and Yelder without a lot of close competition and with solid games for the both of them Saturday night, it looks like this position battle is pretty much wrapped up.