The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off the 2013 NFL Draft's third round by selecting TE Travis Kelce from the University of Cincinnati.
The 2012 season was Kelce's best, totaling 45 passes for 722 yards and eight TDs to lead the Bearcats, earning first-team All-Big East honors.
Kelce owns the UC single-season mark for receptions, yards receiving and touchdowns by a tight end, including the 2012 Belk Bowl game-winner, an 83-yard score with less than sixty ticks on the clock. It was the longest-scoring play and TD pass in Belk Bowl history.
During the 2011 season, Kelce caught 13 passes for 150 yards and two scores. In his redshirt freshman year, he played in 11 games as TE and also took some snaps at QB, strictly out of the Wildcat formation, where he totaled eight carries for 47 yards and two TDs. Kelce said he will use that type of versatility in whatever way the Chiefs coaches want him to.
"I feel comfortable lining up wherever the team needs me to line up. If coach Reid needs me to line up at fullback, tight end, quarterback, wideout or wherever I need to be to help the team out and help the guys in the locker room out, I'm willing to do whatever I've got to do," Kelce said.
Chiefs general manager John Dorsey was sold on the many skills Kelce brings to the table.
"I think that if you didn't acquire somebody like him it would begin to drop off there," Dorsey said. "He is a tight end that can effectively run block; I think he can stretch the field a little bit, I think he has good hands, I think he will add depth to our special teams. He'll help us in all phases."
Kelce will join a fellow Bearcat, former Cincinnati All-American Mardy Gilyard, who was signed as a free agent during the offseason.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said he got to know Travis by coaching his older brother Jason in Philadelphia.
- Chiefs Draft 1st Overall -
