The path to Canton is rarely a straight line. For every can’t-miss prospect, countless others take a winding road. They are the projects, the question marks, the late-round picks who carry more than just playbooks... They carry doubts.
Imagine a rookie, a third-round talent, watching his entire first season vanish to a complex knee surgery. The future doesn't just become cloudy. It becomes a distant rumor.
On the September 3rd episode of the ‘New Heights’ podcast, former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith was asked to look back. Jason Kelce posed a direct question: "In 2014, when you were a rookie with Travis when you first arrived with the Chiefs... Did you expect that we'd end up where we are right now?"
Smith’s immediate, unfiltered response would send shockwaves through Chiefs Kingdom. The verdict was both brutal and hilarious. Smith first confirmed the question, "Did I expect him to be what? Like a Hall of Fame career?"
Jason Kelce clarified, "Yeah. Yeah. That's the question." Smith’s two-word assessment of young Travis’s Hall of Fame chances? "F--k no." The studio erupted in laughter. Smith stood by his blunt, honest recollection. "Hell no. Hell no," he said. This wasn't a malicious critique. It was a memory from a veteran who saw the raw clay before the masterpiece.
He pointed to Kelce’s missed rookie year and clear concerns. "There were some question marks about Trav... coming in that were understood in the building," Smith stated. Microfracture surgery is a career-ender for many. Smith recounted, "I'm sure everybody looks at Trav's career. It's like, 'Oh, look, it was just like so great and destined.' I mean, he didn't even play his rookie year."
He remembered a hobbling Kelce just trying to run routes that first summer. "I remember you out there trying to run through like routes that summer, hobbling around," he said. The belief in his talent was there. But the certainty of greatness was not.
Travis Kelce: From Doubt to Dynasty
Travis Kelce’s own account supports Smith’s memory. His rookie year in 2013 consisted of a single special teams snap against Dallas. He humorously detailed it in July on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast: "It was a blocked field goal... I was on the field goal team, and I only went in because somebody got hurt."
Travis even joked about protecting his knee during the play, yelling, "Ah, my knee!" But the turnaround was spectacular. By 2014, Kelce led the Chiefs in receiving yards.
His 2016 season began a historic seven-year streak of 1,000-yard campaigns. The man once known for MRI frequency became known for record-breaking consistency. Kelce acknowledged his early journey in his podcast: "I ended up catching on, not the second year or the third year, but eventually it clicked for me." Meanwhile, Smith highlighted the crucial role of the Chiefs' culture.
Especially coach Andy Reid. Reid’s patient approach was key. "I think that was the cool thing about, especially about Andy... like there's no judgment," Smith explained. "Like he remembers what it's like to be a 21-year-old kid." This environment was the perfect incubator.
Today, Kelce is a three-time Super Bowl champion contemplating ending his career on a high note. His career is a testament to overcoming early adversity. Besides, Alex Smith’s “hell no” wasn't an insult.
It was the honest beginning of an unbelievable story... It just makes the achievement sweeter, proving that legends aren’t always born. Some are forged. As the poet Robert Frost might say, through trials where “the best way out is always through.”