Travis Kelce’s new protege has never heard a Taylor Swift song, but he’s excited to learn from the Chiefs star

FORT WORTH, Texas – There may be no better NFL landing spot for a rookie tight end than the consecutive Super Bowl The champion Kansas City Chiefs had the opportunity to team up with three-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes and nine-time Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce.

Rookie tight end Jared Wiley, the first of Kansas City’s two fourth-round picks (131st overall) in 2024 NFL Draft out of TCU, is excited to join the defending Super Bowl champions. He is the first tight end the Chiefs have drafted since drafting Noah Gray in the fifth round (162nd overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft. Gray enters the final season of his rookie contract in 2024.

“About a million things were going through my head honestly,” Wiley said Tuesday when asked what he was thinking when the Chiefs drafted him. “But what a place to be. Kansas City is the powerhouse of the NFL. One of the biggest powers in all of sports right now. Being able to go there and learn their culture and be in that winning environment, I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for me.” .”

One of the top things on the rookie Horned Frog’s NFL to-do list is simple: taking notes on everything Kelce does that has allowed him to lead tight ends all time in receiving yards per game (71.2), 1,000-yard seasons (seven) and 100-yard receiving games (37).

“It’s going to be so much fun. I can’t wait to just be a sponge and be able to absorb as much information as possible,” Wiley said. “Travis has done a really good job at what he does, and has been doing it for a long time. Everyone talks about the plays he does and everything, but I don’t see a lot of people talking about the fact that he’s in the 12th year, the 13th year [2024 will be his 12th NFL season]. That’s a long time in the NFL. I’m very happy to hear about the productivity he’s put into his career, but I’m also excited to hear how he goes about his day-to-day tasks, how he takes care of his body and mind where he can. playing this game for so long.”

Kelce, who turns 35 on October 5th, assured that he will remain with the Chiefs for the next two seasons after redoing your contract to become the highest-paid tight end in the NFL (two years, $34.25 million — $17,125 average per year), which has Wiley breathing a sigh of relief knowing he will have the opportunity to learn from Kelce at least in the next two seasons.

“He signed that extension, there’s probably no one more excited than me,” Wiley said. “Just being able to have a little more time with him to learn from him and see what he does every day. This is, in my opinion, the best tight end of all time, honestly. It will take a few years for me to start scratching the surface to be at that level. So the fact that now I can just sit back and think ‘Okay, how can I find my way on the field this year. One?’ Okay, the first year is over. Okay. Now, how can I start transitioning my game into something else?’ That was very important to me.”

His two seasons at TCU in 2022 and 2023 were especially important for Wiley, a player who struggled for opportunities in the passing game in his first three years of his career. college football at the University of Texas. He became a key contributor to the Horned Frogs’ national runner-up season in 2022 and a top target in 2023.

“There’s a lot I’m taking away [from my time at TCU],” Wiley said. “I regained my confidence as a player. On the field, my confidence soared whenever I was out there. I yell at the coaches for that. They did a good job helping me discover that aspect of the game again. So everything else kind of came together. My reps went up, my catches went up, and every other stat I had went up. So I’m super grateful to be able to play somewhere like TCU. … They’re definitely the reason I’m here now.”

Jared Wiley’s College Career

Wiley’s numbers doubled in nearly every critical receiving metric in his second season with the Horned Frogs following the departure of former offensive coordinator Garrett Riley to Clemson and the arrival of current OC Kendal Briles. Riley’s TCU offense used 10 personnel (one running back, no tight ends and four wide receivers) on 43.4% of offensive plays and 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers) on 34.9 % of offensive plays in 2022. Briles’ 2023 offense routinely featured 11 personnel, 82.3% of the time, providing many more opportunities for Wiley.

“Last year, Coach Briles and our entire staff did a great job of getting me involved,” Wiley said. “It took a few games, but I couldn’t be happier with the year I had last year.”

Jared Wiley at TCU

“Incredibly talented and can do it all: put his hand in the dirt and pick it apart,” Briles said at Big 12 Pro Day in March. “He’s a big mismatch with the linebacker safeties and he’s very willing to learn and he’s just a great team guy. very selfless individual. So it’s a pleasure for me to be able to work with him.”

The Horned Frogs’ red zone passing game has certainly been about Wiley: His 12 receiving touchdowns at TCU since 2022 are the most on the team in that span, with nine coming in the red zone. Wiley’s nine red zone scores in that span are tied for fourth among all college tight ends.

“Be bigger than them,” Wiley said of his success inside the 20. “When you get there, there will be a lot of safeties or dimes, maybe a few curves every now and then, but a lot of these guys will be a lot lighter than you and a lot smaller than you. So you have to be big. Last year I was 6’6 and 262 pounds. bully me in the red zone.”

Now, he’ll have a chance to work in the red zone while catching passes from the NFL’s best quarterback in Mahomes. His 153 red-zone touchdown passes since becoming the Chiefs’ starting quarterback in 2018 are the most in the NFL, 34 points ahead of the next closest quarterback — Russell Wilson (119).

“I’m excited about the opportunity. There are only 32 teams in the NFL, and he’s the quarterback for one of 32,” Wiley said. “So just to be able to share the field with him and pick his brain and see what he wants, I’m super excited to do that. It’s all about trying to gain the trust of him and the coaching staff. I have to go out there every day and prove that I’m the tight end and the player that I know I can be.”

In addition to learning the playbook from coach Andy Reid, Wiley will work on becoming a Swiftie, as he claims to have never heard a song by the team’s superfan, pop star Taylor Swift, who is dating Kelce.

“I think I better be one now,” Wiley said of her Taylor Swift fan club. “I’m not going to sit here and lie. I’ve probably never heard one of her songs or anything like that, but I think that’s the coolest thing about her in gaming. She just brings more fans and more publicity to the team.”

Perhaps one day, Wiley’s play on the field could also generate excitement for the Chiefs, something his future mentor, Kelce, knows all about.