The Kansas City Chiefs have a huge battle that will happen in training camp in one of their best position groups.



Training camp is about finding those guys that are sleepers who could end up making some sort of contribution to the team. It's also about getting your team ready for the new season. The Chiefs will be doing both things, as finding guys who can help your team never hurts.



They will be trying to repeat as Super Bowl champions, making them the first team to do so since the 2005 New England Patriots. So, they are going to try and find every guy that can help them get better. That's why position battles happen.

For the tight end position, they will have a battle going on behind the starting position. We know Travis Kelce is the starter and the best tight end in the league. However, how things look behind him on the depth, chart could change and look vastly different than last year.



The Chiefs could switch things up if they feel a guy helps them more this year than he did last year. Here are all the guys behind Travis Kelce, who will be battling for the second, third, or even fourth tight-end spot.

Noah Gray

There are a few reasons Gray almost undoubtedly gets this second-string spot. First, he has been on the team for a few years now, knows the offense, and has made huge plays in huge games. The second string spot is his to lose, and he has the upper hand in the fact that he will be used in a multitude of ways, per head coach Andy Reid.

“Yeah, so the tight ends can work into that spot," Reid told the media earlier this offseason when asked about not having a fullback in 2023. "We know Noah (Gray) can do all of that, and that’s kind of where we went with it. We’ve got a number of tight ends that we feel comfortable with, so maybe you keep an extra tight end as opposed to that full back.”



Playing some full back, which the Chiefs will need him to since they no longer have one on the roster, is what sets him apart from the other. Gray played some of it in college at Duke. Now, that doesn't mean that someone can't take his spot, because that is still very possible.

Jody Fortson

Fortson has been on an absolute grind to get where he is today. I'm sure we have all heard the story of him being cut several times, being on the practice squad for a few years as a receiver, and now being on the actual roster as a tight end. Of course, then there was the game against Washington, where he scored two touchdowns, as he does so easily.



Fortson has come a long way from that and has seemingly locked in his spot on the roster because of his talent and the skill level he possesses. However, he can still move up and down the depth chart depending on if he does well and the other tight ends do well.



Right now, he is the Chiefs' third tight end, or maybe even the second tight end, depending on the package and matchup. If he does well and Noah Gray doesn't do so well, Fortson can take that second spot. And we all know the Chiefs are constantly looking for other guys to come in and take the pressure off of Kelce; Fortson can do that every once in a while.

Blake Bell

The Chiefs have a loaded tight end room, in which they have several guys who could play a ton for other teams. Their potentially fourth-best tight end Blake Bell is a nine-year veteran in this league and has a lot of experience, which makes him dangerous when it comes to taking someone else’s job. 

Not to mention, he is oftentimes a guy the Chiefs will use in trick plays because of his experience as a quarterback in college. Bell is talented and smart. That's another reason why he could find himself moving up the depth chart with a good training camp. Bell also has three years of experience with the Chiefs, including the two Super Bowls.

Matt Bushman

Last offseason you may remeber the Bushman game. Matt Bushman played the Green Bay Packers in the preseason, and what turned out to be a very close game saw the Chiefs winning on the back of Bushman, who led Kansas City receivers with 73 yards and two touchdowns.



Bushman was so close to making the 53-man roster, but ultimately he would end up getting hurt in that Packers game with a significant injury to his shoulder. He left the game as the injury hurt him pretty badly, and ultimately that ended up causing him to not be the third tight end on the roster,



He was going to be the third because of both Jody Fortson and Blake Bell were injured. Now, those two are also healthy, and he will have to go through them to make the roster. It isn't impossible, but it won't be easy. another game like the one he had in 20-22 would help a ton.

It doesn't get talked about enough, but the Chiefs may have the best tight end room in the league, and a lot of that is because of the depth, in addition to having the best to ever do it. That reason, in particular, is going to make for some great training camp battles on July 23.

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