After hosting thousands of spectators last weekend, the NFL draft is in the rearview for the Kansas City Chiefs. The next crop of rookies will have their chance to wear a Chiefs uniform soon when they get ready for the rookie minicamp, as many greats have done before them.
The importance of maturity and being a team player as a rookie are vital to success, and it starts well before the veterans are at training camp. Over the years, Chiefs All-Pro Travis Kelce’s growth has taken him to the top of the league as a champion and garnered individual accolades. On the latest episode of New Heights, the Chiefs’ tight end reflected his experience at rookie minicamp ten years ago.
“It’s the most chaotic,” said Kelce. “They put in probably close to 160 plays, I would assume somewhere around that to like 200. And you have to (learn) by the end of the weekend, you’re fried mentally and physically, you have full-on practices, not padded practices, but everybody’s out there and a helmet flying around. Nobody knows what they’re doing. I mean, the quarterbacks could barely spit out the play call. Because they’re so new, they just got taught what they’re doing the day before, right? So it’s just it’s absolute chaos. And I love watching guys just do absolutely whatever they think is the best thing possible on film. And it’s entertaining. I think it’s entertaining because it’s nothing like a structured practice usually is in the NFL. Yeah, I was a part of that chaos.”
Kelce was drafted out of Cincinnati in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft. He had plenty of question marks following a college career that included a season-long suspension. He worked through the adversity and injuries to become a core member of the Chiefs’ offense.
“I remember jumping into Kansas City as a rookie. The first weekend you get put in like a townhouse or a hotel for the weekend,” said Kelce. “I was walking around going to barbecue joints and just enjoying the area around the hotel as much as possible because I don’t like sitting in the house, and man, it was quite the experience got to get some good old Kansas City Barbecue introduced to Oklahoma Joe’s at the time which is now Kansas City Joe’s and I gained some weight pretty quickly. So, enjoy the Kansas City Barbecue maybe have some greens while you’re enjoying it as well. Yeah, just get ready for Chiefs Kingdom to show you some love, man, because the city is too electric right now.”
The Chiefs rookies heading into the 2023 season will have their own stories to tell soon, but hearing the humble beginnings of a star in the league is a welcomed preview. The opportunity to get a head start on enjoying the Kansas City community is a needed process for every young player.
