Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid coached both Kelce brothers during his career, drafting Jason Kelce in Philadelphia before bringing Travis Kelce to Kansas City. Years later, the Chiefs coach explained why their paths to the NFL looked very different.

Speaking on a May 2023 episode of the New Heights podcast, Reid looked back at the draft process with Jason and Travis Kelce. The brothers asked Reid what stood out when he first evaluated each of them.

“I saw him [Travis Kelce] play against Temple," Reid said. And my son kept telling me, ‘This tight end is unbelievable. Kelce's brother is incredible. I mean, he's 265 pounds. He's a beast.’ And then I get him. He's like 240.”

Reid heard plenty of praise about Travis before seeing him himself, but his assessment of Jason centered more on the center's intelligence, and athleticism.

“You (Jason) were a great player,” Reid said in the New Heights podcast on May 10, 2023. “A little bit undersized, had tremendous toughness and speed. You were smart, dirty, and tough.”

Reid selected Jason in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft during his time as Philadelphia Eagles head coach. The center went on to spend his entire NFL career in Philadelphia and became one of the franchise's most decorated players.

Travis arrived two years later after Reid took over in Kansas City. The Chiefs selected him in the third round, although Reid recalled receiving a slightly different player than the one he had been hearing about.

That wasn't Reid's only memorable impression from Travis' pre-draft evaluation. After Cincinnati's win over Temple, Reid recalled Kelce confidently approaching him and immediately joking around as if they had known each other for years.

Reid's reaction was less amused at the time, but the encounter gave him an early glimpse of Kelce's personality.

More than a decade later, that same energy has remained a defining part of Kelce's approach. Reid saw it again during training camp this summer, when the veteran tight end pushed himself hard enough that the coach had to step in.

Andy Reid had to pull Travis Kelce from practice this summer

Reid is still dealing with the same relentless approach from Kelce at age 36. During his post-training-camp press conference, the Chiefs coach pointed to the veteran when discussing players who set the tone through their work.

“You have examples like Kelce; he’s the oldest guy on the team and came out every day and worked to where you had to yank him out of there to give him a breather,” Reid told reporters on August 21.

Kelce is entering his 14th NFL season and remains one of Kansas City's longest-tenured players. Despite his age, Reid's comments suggest the tight end hasn't needed extra motivation to push through the demands of camp.

Linebacker Nick Bolton saw the same thing while practicing against Kelce. “There’s no excuses when you have the old guy out there running routes and stuff like that,” Bolton said, adding that Kelce has been “fun to watch.”

The Chiefs open the regular season against the Denver Broncos on September 14. Kelce's camp has already given Reid another reminder of the player he drafted more than a decade ago.

Written by

Evince Das