Four things to know about probable Travis Kelce replacement Noah Gray
After hyper-extending his knee in practice on Tuesday, the Kansas City Chiefs could be without All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce for at least their season opener against the Detroit Lions on “Thursday Night Football.”
The Chiefs have just two other tight ends currently on their roster — Noah Gray and Blake Bell — and many are already penciling Gray in as the presumed starter if Kelce misses any time.
Both have been with KC for the last two seasons, but Gray has been far more productive with 35 receptions, 335 yards and two touchdowns. Gray logged at least one reception in all but one game last season, including the Chiefs' three postseason games.
Gray is a relatively unknown in NFL circles outside of Kansas City, but here are four things to know about the Chiefs potential new (temporary) TE1:
He’s durable: Gray missed just one game during his four-year run at Duke, appearing in 48 games with 21 starts. The 24-year-old has also missed just one game since joining the Chiefs as a fifth-round pick in 2021, playing in 33 of a possible 34 games.
Record breaker: Gray wrote his name in the Duke record books when he set the school’s all-time mark for career receptions by a tight end (105) during the 2020 season — a record that stood for 57 years. He ended his career with the second-most single-season receptions by a tight end (51) and fourth-most touchdown receptions by a tight end (eight) in school history as well.
Decorated prep star: Gray earned all-state honors and was named to the USA Today All-USA Massachusetts team as a senior after logging 30 receptions, 619 yards and eight touchdowns for Leominster High School. He was also named MVP of the New York vs. New England 7-on-7 All-Star Challenge.
Prior to his senior season, Gray was a two-way star during his junior year as a quarterback/running back. He accounted for for 2,144 yards (1,707 passing, 437 rushing) and 28 touchdowns (21 passing, seven rushing) before switching to tight end as a senior.
Fantasy outlook: If Kelce does indeed miss the season opener against the Detroit Lions on Thursday, fantasy owners have a real dilemma on their hands, and it may not be as easy as simply adding Gray and hoping he has a fraction of the production Kelce would have. The good news for fantasy players is Gray catches mostly everything thrown his way. He has 35 receptions on 44 targets and his catch percentage of 79.5 is actually better than both Kelce (71) and Bell (63.8).
But Gray has never been targeted more than three times in any game and the Chiefs have a deep stable of receivers (Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justyn Ross) that could take targets away from the tight ends. Even in a 10- or 12-team league format, there are likely higher-upside players available on the waiver wire ahead of Thursday including Carolina’s Hayden Hurst, Denver’s Greg Dulcich, New York’s Ty Conklin and Tampa Bay’s Cade Otten.
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