The Kansas City Chiefs are facing an uncertain offseason, largely due to the questions around superstar TE Travis Kelce's future with the organization.
He's taking some time to decide if he'll play one more season or hang up the cleats and while recent reports indicate he'll likely give it another go, it doesn't feel like he'll be playing beyond 2025 either way. That means it's time to prepare for 2026, especially because Brett Veach likes to plan one year in advance.
With respect to Noah Gray and promising youngster Jared Wiley, neither feels equipped at this stage to take over Kelce's outsized role. No one can, though the Chiefs could pull off a wild trade in the coming months that'd give them an obvious heir to Kelce.
Chiefs Acquire Kyle Pitts as Travis Kelce Successor in New Projected Trade
Inspired by an idea from Shannon Sharpe, this projected trade sees the Chiefs sending a fourth and seventh-round pick in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for former No. 4 selection Kyle Pitts and a 2026 seventh-rounder.
Kansas City has an additional third-round pick from trading L'Jarius Sneed and an extra seventh from the New York Jets thanks to Mecole Hardman, so they have extra capital to work with. The Chiefs selected Wiley in the fourth round last year, why wouldn't they spend the same kind of pick on someone as talented as Pitts?
Considered one of the best TE prospects to ever enter the league, Pitts caught 68 passes for 1,026 yards during his rookie campaign but has been poorly utilized by the Falcons in the years since. He's entering the final year of his rookie deal on a club option though given his limited success in Atlanta, some fans are asking for him to be traded.
Veach loves finding former top prospects and getting them at a discount. Pitts, who averaged 17.9 yards per catch with 12 TDs during his final year at Florida, would be the perfect reclamation project.
He's perhaps the most athletic player in the NFL at the position. Provided Kelce comes back, Pitts could learn from him for a season before being unleashed on a fresh contract extension in 2026 as the new starter. If Kelce does retire, then the Chiefs would already have a ready-made replacement.
It's a win-win for both sides and Veach needs to strongly consider it.