NFL shares video clip of Chiefs' Travis Kelce coaching up tight ends from around the league at Tight End University
The fifth annual Tight End University camp kicked off on Tuesday. Founded by the Kansas City Chiefs' own Travis Kelce, along with George Kittle and Greg Olsen, 78 tight ends from around the NFL are participating. As captured by the NFL's social media team, Kelce wasted no time getting in on the action and coaching […]
The fifth annual Tight End University camp kicked off on Tuesday.
Founded by the Kansas City Chiefs' own Travis Kelce, along with George Kittle and Greg Olsen, 78 tight ends from around the NFL are participating. As captured by the NFL's social media team, Kelce wasted no time getting in on the action and coaching the guys up.
"Us big guys, it's so hard for us to just throw one foot in the ground going 75 percent speed in a route to get out of there, right?" Kelce preached to his fellow tight ends. "So we want to use two steps. If you can get two, sometimes it takes three on the 15-20 yard routes if you're lucky enough to run them. But for me, getting in and out of a break, you have to slow that momentum down and really gather that power so that you can explode out.
"So I'm going to make sure that I get to a balanced, powerful position. That in-step is typically going in the direction that I want to go. Don't always want to under-step. If I can choose what I'm doing, I'm going in at a powerful position. That means if a defender is on me, I'm still strong getting out of that thing. I can gain separation, and it's hard to gain separation if you don't go in at a controlled pace. So really work and find that shoulder-over-toe, and you can get in and out of there precise and with a purposeful, powerful foundation."
NFL insider James Palmer, who has covered the Chiefs as much as any national reporter, says Kelce's teachings line up with what defenders have told him about trying to guard Kelce over the years.
Tight ends will always be a bit underrated, but players at the position have become so much more athletic and important to their teams in recent years. With Kelce at the backend of his NFL career, hopefully a handful of young tight ends will soak up his knowledge and play the position at a dynamic level.