Reflected on the uncertainty he felt on draft day
Travis Kelce has been instrumental in the Kansas City Chiefs’ rise to prominence, including three Super Bowl wins over the past five years. However, the trajectory of his career nearly took an unexpected turn during the 2013 NFL Draft, as the Chiefs star recently revealed.
Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, Kelce reflected on the uncertainty he felt on draft day. Initially, he thought he had received a call from the St. Louis Rams, not the Kansas City Chiefs.
The confusion arose because Kelce was familiar with the Rams’ area code, as some of his former University of Cincinnati teammates played for the team. For a brief moment, he believed he might be headed to St. Louis.
The Rams, who eventually moved to Los Angeles in 2016, were struggling at the time, which made Kelce’s draft day experience all the more tense. But once he realized it was actually the Chiefs calling, everything began to make sense, and his NFL journey took a definitive path.
“I get a call from a Missouri number and an Ohio kid like me had no idea that Kansas City was located in Missouri,” Kelce said.
“And sure enough, I’m thinking it’s the St Louis Rams, because they were still in St Louis at that time.
“I was kind of like, bummed when I saw the Missouri number. And then all of a sudden I answer it, and it’s Coach Reid, and it’s just the most exciting. It went from like, I get to play for Coach Reid, because I had heard so much good things from everybody in the Eagles organization that my brother was tied to.”
Kelce’s promise to Reid
Despite his initial excitement about joining the Chiefs, Kelce recalled how head coach Andy Reid quickly grounded him with clear expectations during that same draft call. Reid’s message shaped the tone of Kelce’s career, which has since blossomed into one of the most successful in the league.
“He was like, ‘Hey, are you going to screw this up? Are you gonna? Am I doing the right thing by taking you?” and immediately, he set the bar,” Kelce added.
“I promised him myself that I really wanted to, like, be the best pick he ever had. I was just so thankful that he was taking a chance on me and then immediately he’s like, ‘Alright, is your brother around? Put him on the phone.'”
source:marca.com
