Chiefs are quietly turning the tight end page as Noah Gray earns bigger role

For years, Travis Kelce has been the cornerstone of the Kansas City Chiefs offense. He's undoubtedly a future Hall of Famer who has reset the metrics for historic greatness at his position of tight end. With nine consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and four first-team All-Pro nods, Kelce's legacy is unquestioned.

But as Kelce nears his 36th birthday, and after he openly wrestled with retirement last spring, it's clear that, like it or not, a page is turning at tight end for the Chiefs in 2025.

Noah Gray is clearly the heir apparent, at least among internal options, and it's clear the Chiefs have viewed this succession plan ahead of time. General manager Brett Veach decided to lock up Gray with a three-year extension that started before the 2024 season, giving the Chiefs a reliable target who knows the system through 2026.

It's a small sample size, but the snap counts so far in 2025 are starting to tell a story of succession.

Coming into Week 1, however, it was odd to see how the Chiefs utilized their tight ends in a season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Kelce played 84 percent of snaps that game while Gray played only 41 percent. Yet here's how things are trending so far since the start of the season:

It's a small sample size, but it appears that the Chiefs are gradually shifting their personnel usage to allow for more rest for Kelce.

Looking back at last year's numbers, Kelce only played less than 80 percent of snaps in four total games and they all came before Week 8. Starting at the season's midpoint, Kelce played an average of 86.1 percent of all snaps. In the postseason, that total climbed above 88 percent.

Meanwhile, Gray became a non-factor down the stretch for the Chiefs. Once Hollywood Brown returned from injury, his snap percentage dipped below 50 and he had only three total targets in the final three games of the season. The trend continued into the postseason when he had a total of 15 yards of offense in three games, including Super Bowl LIX.

If Gray's playing time in Week 3 is any indication of his usage rates going forward, it's going to lead to new things for the Chiefs' offense. Gray only had three games in all of 2024 with a percentage as high as 68 percent (what he had against the Giants). In 70 regular-season games played with the Chiefs, Gray has only played such a high percentage of snaps on 5 occasions.

If the first three games are any indication, 2025 is the season when Kansas City’s tight end torch begins to pass in earnest. The sample size is small, but the Chiefs were clear this offseason about trying to get Kelce more rest. The last couple of weeks show how that plan is unfolding.