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Chiefs Mailbag: Kelce at Receiver?

Answering questions submitted by Chiefs Kingdom

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Charles from Casper asks: Do you think Travis Kelce will play in a wide receiver position?

Coach Reid has always been really creative with how he utilizes tight ends in his offense. Kelce has a unique skillset for a player of his size, and the Chiefs have lined him up on the outside as a receiver already this season.

He's a mismatch for most defensive players because of his size at 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, and the Chiefs do move him around to take advantage of his abilities.

One of the big storylines from training camp was the versatility and athleticism we saw every day from the Chiefs top three tight ends—Anthony Fasano, Travis Kelce and Demetrius Harris. They've shown that so far this season, as the Chiefs used all three of those guys on the field together 13 times against the Dolphins last Sunday.

Andre from Grandview asks: Do you think the media will ever give Alex Smith enough credit?

Probably not, and I say that as someone who is around Smith almost every day.

He is the unquestioned leader of this football team and everybody in this building knows that. It's much easier to see the things he brings to the table being where I am and around it every day, but fans should know that he carries himself and acts exactly like you'd want the face of your franchise to act. Whether it's in the hallway, elevator or anywhere else that he's not in front of a camera, he's the same guy.

It's easy to dismiss those things if you aren't around them. But even on the field, Smith's ability to make the right decisions and be calm in big situations has an effect on this football team. 

Smith has always played his best football in the biggest situations and that can't be disputed, and he'll have more of those big opportunities during his time in Kansas City.

Peter from Brookfield asks: What can the Chiefs do to have a better passing attack?

The Chiefs were extremely efficient in the passing game against the Miami Dolphins, completing 75 percent of their passes without any interceptions.

Last year's top receiver was actually running back Jamaal Charles, who hasn't been that involved this season yet because of an ankle injury. His return should help bring another big play threat to the Chiefs offense, as should the debut of rookie De'Anthony Thomas, whenever that happens as he's dealing with a hamstring.

Travis Kelce has already established himself as a blossoming star in this league at tight end, and I think the more time he gets on the field, the more development we'll see from him.

Also, nine of the 14 plays against the Dolphins that went for at least 10 yards were passes.

Everything on an offense is connected, from the blocking up front to the routes run on the outside to ball placement from the quarterback. For something to improve, there's much more to it than a simple answer that could increase one number in a box score.

"Execution" is the word most often used around here in describing whether or not something is successful, and that involves everyone out on the field.

Kansas City Chiefs fans cheer on their team to a 34-15 victory over the Dolphins on September 21, 2014 in Miami.

Kiswanna from Kansas City asks: Are we going to continue to have two TEs involved in our offense?

Each week the game plan is different because you're going up against a different set of defensive players and a different scheme, but the Chiefs have seen success from their tight ends so far this season.

They even saw some success in the 13 plays (out of 71 total) they ran with three tight ends on the field together against the Dolphins.

Multiple tight ends on the field together that have the skillset our players possess creates mismatches for the defense, and when you have a coach that's known as one of the best "schemers" in football, along with a quarterback who has been known to make good decisions, there's reason to believe it will continue to be successful.

Curtis from Manhattan asks: Does Knile Davis' performance earn him more snaps when Jamaal Charles returns?

It's a good problem to have with so many players that are able to contribute and bring something to the table.

Nobody was surprised at how well Knile Davis has performed in Charles' absence; he was one of the biggest stories of training camp. Mitch Holthus and I routinely discussed how well Davis looked in St. Joe., and I think the number of snaps he sees moving forward will have more to do with the game plan for a specific opponent than how he did over the past couple of games.

He has a skillset that's proven to produce on the field, as has Joe McKnight after his breakout performance on Sunday as well, and it just gives coach Reid more options on how he can move guys around moving forward.

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