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Part one Knox listeners. Dan for Valley here, your second favorite co host
on this podcast. We have a special treat for you today. We know
that we're an NBA podcast, but we also know that everyone loves all sports,
and if you're a basketball fan, there's actually probably a pretty high percentage
chance you like the NFL. And so we're dropping an episode of Blue Wires
te one podcast. It's NFL tight End Conversations with Greg Olsen. Yes,
that is Greg Olsen tight End for the Seattle Seahawks. Longtime tight end for
the Carolina Panthers as well. His episode, he's going to be speaking with
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelsey. I've already heard it. It's a bang or
you're gonna love it. You should be checking out the rest of the episodes
on this podcast. He is talking with past and present stars. Essentially.
He's already talked with Mike Ditka that that episode's released, Ozzy k Newsom,
that episode's up. The Shannon Sharp episode is up. He's talked with Tony
Gonzalez. That episode is up. You can listen to a preview in the
feed for his soon to be episode with George Kittle of the San Francisco forty
nine ers. He's having these real honest conversations with again stars both past and
present about the evolution of the tight end position, and even when he's speaking
with guys like Shannon Sharp or Mike Dicka, there is a focus on today's
tight ends and how far they've really come, how far this position has come
over the years, over the decades. Highly recommend this podcast. The link
is in the feed if you'd like to subscribe it. We definitely appreciate a
rating and any reviews that you want to throw in there as well, but
we hope you enjoy this episode of Greg Olsen going in depth in a conversation
with Travis Kelsey. Te One is brought to you by the strongest, most
advanced Chevy Silverado ever. This truck is all about grit, strength, and
dependability, the same attributes it takes to be a tight end. And just
like the incredible tight ends we sit down with on my new show, the
Chevy Silverado is in the league of its own. Before we kick off the
show, I want to tell you that this season, NFL Sunday Ticket is
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eight. I'm Greg Olsen and this is t E one, the podcast where
we explore the evolution of the tight end position through conversations with some of the
best players of all time. Hey, everybody, what's up? Welcome back
to TE one. I'm your host, Greg Olson, and today I'm gonna
be talking to Travis Kelsey, the first team All Pro, Pro Bowl and
most recently twenty nineteen twenty Super Bowl champ of the Kansas City Chiefs. Travis
Kelsey has taken production and stats for the tight end position to a level I'm
not sure anyone ever imagined possible on the heels of guys like Tony Gonzalez and
Shannon Sharp. He's on pace to catch records that people at one time thought
were unreachable, and to be able to sit down and hear his perspective and
hear his background and the influence that it had on him and shaping him as
a player, some of his trials, some of his struggles both and growing
up as a kid in his background, but also at the college level,
and you know, people questioning whether or not he had the makeup to make
this to go along with his incredible physical skills. Did he had the you
know, the mental approach and the discipline to become the player that he obviously
has become. And he's answered that more than adequately over the last couple of
years with just who he is as a person, and of course his production
and career stands out for itself. And then some of the relationships he's built
with Andy Reid and the impact that he's had. He talks about meeting Andy
when he coached his brother Jason for the Eagles when he was in college,
and low and behold, he ends up playing for Andy and winning a Super
Bowl with him this past season. I had to bring up that he broke
my record. He is the first guy in NFL history to have four const
could have a thousand yards seasons. And then, as most conversations go that
involve anyone with the Kansas City Chiefs, you know they're MVP quarterback Pat Mahomes
who in a very short period of time has been the MVP and now Super
Bowl champion and has really taken the league by storm and it's kind of revolutionized
the quarterback position. And here's my conversation with Travis Kelsey. Just a heads
up. This conversation was recorded before Travis signed his new extension with the Chiefs.
What's up, man, man? You know what? Just enjoying the
offseason. I guess where are you? I'm in Kansas City, good old
Casey m O. That's the Casey k CCMO. People make difference out here,
but that's a difference. That's a huge differentiation if you if you mess
that up, that's embarrassing. How many guys they'll come there and don't know
which state they're in. I'm one of them. I was like, I
thought I was going to Kansas. I actually got a when I got the
call from Andy Reid on draft A, I got a Missouri number, and
I'm thinking, the only thing in the Zory I know, Saint Louis.
I'm just kidding me, Saint Louis. I mean, shout out to Fisher
and everybody. Obviously obviously it just wasn't for me. But Andy Reid Man
can't be mad. I think I think it's all worked out and we are
going to dive into all of that and more, and but first and foremost,
thank you for agreeing to do this. This obviously is a real treat.
You are the first guy that I've interviewed who came into the league after
me, So I'm actually super excited now to get into a more contemporary era
of tight ends. I want to go back to, you know, growing
up in Ohio, having a big brother that you wanted to be like,
following him to college. But first, just just talk to me about what
it was like. I know you've talked a lot about your father instilling that
discipline in you guys as a steel worker, showing you what real work was
exactly. And so just take us back a little bit, give us some
perspective on on where you came from, what you're early childhood was like,
and what impact that's had on who you are and also who you are as
a football player. Oh yeah, honestly, So, I come from Northeast
Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, sty specific and yeah, I
mean growing up I originally grew up my first five years of living on this
earth, I was in north Ridgeville, Ohio, which is still in Northeast
Ohio area, so so on the west side. But completely different dynamic in
terms of ethnicity, social class from where I ended up in Cleveland Heights,
which I think is one of the most beautiful places on earth. So it
was it was a very unique atmosphere growing up in the Heights, and me
and my brother both got that and we got it from a lot of different
angles because we love sports so much. So I mean, you talk about
it. I mean everything from soccer, hockey, baseball, basketball, lacrosse,
got into football once middle school high school came around, always had a
racket for tenant, you know. I mean just the backyard was a complete
sports complex, which I'm sure is not very different than a lot of the
brother brothers here in the world. But I mean that's all we did.
We competed at every single sport we could possibly compete at, and then it
trickled into the video game world, and then it trickled into the playing cards
while we're eating dinner. You know, everything was a competition. And what
that did was it just built up one a relationship that you know, I
was so appreciative of as a kid to know that I had a bigger brother
always kind of just making sure that I'm doing the right things and I'm and
I'm always getting an upper hand on, you know, the guys when I
play in my age age groups and stuff. So it's just it was a
very cool, cool upbringing. Yeah, I grew up in the Northeast.
I grew up outside of New York City, and like a typical New York
suburb. Both my parents were school teachers. We were kind of middle America,
middle class. We had a nice upbringing. You know, we didn't
want for a lot. We weren't rich by any means off teachers salaries.
My dad was a football coach, but my dad, you know, grew
up in some more humble beginnings. At any time he felt that we were
kind of losing perspective a little bit, he would put us in the car
and he would drive us up to a little bit more north in North Jersey
and take us to his old trailer. And it wasn't a trailer park,
it wasn't a It was a single trailer with an outhouse in the middle of
the woods. And since you know, I don't know what's happened to it
since then, but you know, thirty years after he lived there, it
had been knocked over and weeds were growing, and you know, it just
gave a great dose reality and from and from that experience growing up in middle
America, middle class America to then you know, the you talk about football
and sports in general, really just expanding our horizons. I go down to
university in Miami, kids from all over the country, but you know,
predominantly kids from South Miami, South Florida. Just being exposed to different cultures.
It's the and I and people ask me all the time, you know,
what was Miami like? The football was great and all that, What
was it? It was? It was very good. It was we had
a lot of fun. Uh we can touch on that here in a second.
This is an open, open forum. But when people asked me,
the best part about it was just being a around the guys, and being
around guys that lived very different lives than I had up until that point,
and just really developing friendships and developing appreciation for their backgrounds and their stories and
their personal lives. And these are guys that I'm still talked to and are
friendly with to this day. And you know, if it wasn't for football,
I don't know if I would have ever gotten out of my bubble.
I don't know if I would have ever seen anything outside of northern New Jersey.
And I'm thankful for that. And I'm thankful obviously for the last fourteen
years of being around some of the most you know, insightful, intelligent guys
from all walks of life. And like you said, those locker room moments,
that's what that's what makes it at the end of the day, that's
what we'll remember. Those are the things that I was excited to come back
in your fourteen you know, and I look forward to developing those new friendships
out in Seattle. So let's go back. So you talked about your three
sport You're playing everything three sports star But there's a lot of people who think
you could have been a better if it wasn't for your father or he was
really the one who talked you into playing football at the next level, right,
You wanted to play basketball, baseball. Football was not really at the
top of your list. It wasn't it was Honestly, I think it was
something that my brother locked in on and he ran with it, and I
was just kind of sitting there like, well, yeah, I mean I
see how dominant he is, you know, let's let's give it a try.
I got out there, had some fun, had some success, but
my real love was always basketball and baseball is the was the one that my
father was really like, Yeah, you know what I mean. There was
always my dad's dream. Get the swing the bad It's not a bad way
to make it's not a bad way to make a living. It is very
It is very Uh, it's very cool to think that maybe I could have
done another sport. But at the end of the day, I'm glad I
chose football. Man. It's it's It's opened up so many doors for me,
so many fun experiences, meeting guys like Greg Olsen. Yeah right,
So you talk a lot about your brother. So your brother, Jason obviously
is an all Pro, one of the best centers in the game, super
Bowl champ, but he's just an all round stud. I'll tell you what
we down at the Pro Bowl. Humble brag. I was at the Pro
Bowl with your brother and we had the best time. Like that dude on
the bus, telling stories, just kind of shooting the ship. We had.
We had such a good time. I remember when me and you used
to be around each other at Pro Bowls, and then the last couple of
years, I haven't exactly held up my end of the bargain. But the
Kelsey brothers are pretty much always there. But now he played tight end.
He's a center now, but he played tight end. But you were not
a tight end. So he was a backer. He was a linebacker.
He played a little running back at HVAC type things. He's just all around
athlete. Trying to find you can tell when he plays center. The guys.
So the guy is unbelievably fast, man, he gets it, he
gets it. He was he averaged nine yards pop on the handoffs. Who's
tackling him? So let me tell you. So, I've talked to some
of the greatest tight ends who have ever played in the last couple of weeks.
None of them and play tight end when they were kids, And obviously
you're no different. You were a quarterback really up until your first couple of
years in college. Yeah, nobody ever dreams about being a tight end.
We kind of all just sort of end up tight ends by crazy. Yeah,
but you were a big time quarterback. Division one quarterback went to University
of Cincinnati as a quarterback. Was that entire process of recruiting always driven with
the idea of being a quarterback or did some schools say, now we have
other plans for you, Like how did that whole thing play out? Yeah,
I feel like the majority of my offers were athlete and as I talked
to the most of the college coaches, and this is similar for a lot
a lot of guys. It's not a very unique story by any means,
because a lot of guys will go think and the coaches will sit there and
say, yeah, he wants to play, he wants to play quarterback,
but yeah, you might be a better wide receiver or vice versa. I
was. I was a quarterback, but I never threw the ball in high
school. I was I was always just you know what, I get these
five yards and just five yard them all the way down. I was a
runner, so I I just never developed the understanding of looking downfield at coverages
and stuff like that through high school or my first couple of years at Cincinnati.
So when I got to Cincinnati, it was just a wildcat. Well
once, once the wildcat became something was, well, how how do we
get them on the field so that when we catch a team in our up
tempo stuff, we can just throw them into wildcat and they'll be stuck in
a certain personnel or something like that, getting real football talkie here, and
so they so they came out with this this wildcat and I started to transition
into doing some tight end stuff. And that was my second year in college
and from that point on, we went to the Sugar Bowl, had a
great year, great run for the Bearcats. Shout out to UC baby,
and you know what, it was just it was the transition was it was
there, it was over. I was like, you know what, I
kind of I'm kind of enjoying this tight end a little bit more than the
quarterback. The quarterback. I don't want to get into the scrutiny and all
that stuff, but I think that there is a certain level of professionalism that
you have to demand as a quarterback for your team, for your you know
what I mean. And I'm not saying I'm not a professional by any means.
I just I just think that is the best. That is the best
self awareness comment I've ever heard. I think got to know yourself, man,
and in watching Oh my god, knowing you and getting to know you
over the years, that self awareness right there, I applaud you, and
that is amazing. It was just it was a little too much in my
mind. I mean, I still have the hopes of the dreams that one
day, you know, I just might get to run a two minute rail
somewhere. But I mean, let's all right, So let's we're gonna fast
forward a little bit and then we'll get back. I mean, in the
NFL, we've seen you on third down line up in the shotgun. We've
seen you hand the ball off zone read. We've seen you pull it and
run for the we haven't seen I don't think we've seen you pull it and
throw it right one time. Have you thrown it one time? A little
fake bubble screen? Okay, all right, the great great story. We're
playing against the Giants and has coach Reid's installing this play. He's, uh,
it's it's basically spread the spread the defense out. Throw a bubble screen
to me, I act like I'm running it in, and then throw it
down the middle of the Tyreek big cover two team. We're hoping we get
the safety's bite a little bit, and the safety isn't bite at all.
They didn't believe on the bubble screen at all, so they just they doubled
Tyreek. Well for whatever reason, I'm not gonna say he did this on
purpose, but for whatever reason. On the drawing on the install it's got
a backside post. Why would it be there if he didn't give me a
progress, if he did allow me to progress, you know what I mean,
go through my progression, and it's just you know what I always I
dream big. I dream big. I'm like, all right, if I
get this thing Tyreek's and open, just peek, just peek over and share
enough. I peek over to Marcus Robinson's Scott Free just rolling down the other
hash or other numbers, and I give it a good crow hop, a
little a little base out field, a little crow hop and check it about
fifty yards sixty yards downfield, and uh yeah, got picked. Well.
The rest of the story was money. We When I tell you I was
a big league QB Greg, I'm talking about I made it. I made
it. But can you imagine how legendary that would have been? Man coach,
They don't throw me bubble screens, so like you and Kittle, like
all you guys that are so like crafty after the catch, I always did
like ninety five percent of my work before I got the ball, and then
and then after I caught the ball was just like survive. So they don't
throw me bubble screens. So I can only imagine what that must how exciting
that must be to catch a bubble screens. D you get the numbers.
Anybody can run a bubble screen. Now we've thrown them to the fullbacks.
You can get a good bubble screen. You get you catch the numbers on
one of these run pass options. That's true. We're gonna do some of
that in Seattle. We did a lot of it with Cam, but we're
gonna do more with us now. So well, that's a good story,
and now people know that this isn't just by accident. Andy Reid's not just
laying up at night saying I might put Travis Kelsey at quarterback. You were
That's what you were in high school, and that's what were your first couple
of years until in the story I've heard and you can confirm or deny.
So Tony Pike. So, Tony Pike was a very brief teammate of mine.
So I got traded to Caroline in twenty eleven and you were like seven
years old, So I was just making the transition. You were on my
wall, in my dorm room. We're gonna talk about that. We're gonna
talk about that hold, that thought, hold, that throup. So in
twenty eleven, I got traded to Carolina and the rule then was, because
we were in the lockout, if you got a new contract, you were
not eligible to practice for the first five days of training camp. It was
amazing. I highly I highly recommend it. So so there was like fifteen
of us who weren't allowed to practice for whatever the reason, and Tony Pike
was one of them. He had just gotten signed by the Panthers. So
the poor guy, and every time I hear his name, this is the
story I think of. I would drag him out on the practice field before
we would go out there and make him. We would row balls and work
out, and the poor guy one day, after a couple of days,
threw a ball and the poor guy tore something in his shoulder on air and
never played again. And for that whole preseason, everybody was like, you
ruined Tony Pike's career, And I'm like, I felt so bad the poor
guy. It was just throwing balls on air. I can't he beat you
out? If you beat him out, are you the tight end? You
are today. No, I don't think so. I think I'm you know,
I'm breaking records behind in the pack, in the in the pocket man.
Honestly, I think I had cannon. I had a cannon. So
all Chief fans out there need to take a minute to thank Tony Pike for
beating you out for the starting quarterback at the University of Cincinnati or else you
are not Pro Bowl all pro Travis Kelsey and you know what, you know
what's funny that you say that is that he was the big pocket passer.
I was the wildcat. I was the runner I came in for and we
were like a little dual dual threat combo there. But yeah, no,
that he slowly just transitioned me. Him and Zach Laris, another big East
Goon, just won the Gray Cup up in Canada. Shout outs, Zach
Laris got a lot of shout outs today, But you're killing the shout out
game. Keep it going. This is your dude, this is your forum.
Whoever you want to shout out, whoever you want to touch on,
this is your canvas, buddy, go and paint. I put on way
too much shout out the old spice. I'm just I'm breathing in the fumes
of my duds. Well you're wearing I wish people could see you. They're
not going to see you, but I can see you. Want to see
my dress? That tank top is unbelievable. It was hot out today.
Man, it's get it's hot here in Kansas City. Man, at the
past couple of weeks, and I feel like that humidity is just rising on.
You're you get about ten routes and you're like, WHOA, I feel
I almost died today. So back back to the conversation. I'm gonna try
to keep it on track. So coming out of high school, I had
an older brother who was one great ahead of me, played quarterback and went
to the university and Notre Dame. In my heart, I wanted to go
to Miami. I wanted to do, you know, similar to like you
touchdown. I wanted to go play with my big brother. We had always
played together through high school growing up. I originally signed with the university and
Notre Dame, went there for a summer, and shortly after that realized we
had to go our separate ways. He went to Virginia. I transferred and
obviously finished my career at Miami. You also took the path where you had
a lot of other options, a lot of other schools who wanted you,
but you also said, you know, I'm gonna go play. You know,
Jason was at Cincinnati, you know, a few years older than you.
Take us through that process, Like, how important was it for you
your family, because I know firsthand there's a lot of pressure to follow in
the footsteps for the family. It gives it gives your family one spot to
go to see both the boys or you know what I mean, to go
see both of us. You know, it gives one team for everyone to
cheer for. It's just and on top, but that it gives me somebody
I can relate to out here in the world, you know, going to
it going to a new school, I don't know which I mean. I
was a I'm a happy, go lucky guy. I don't know what crowd
I would have caught in and caught on too without my brother being you know,
I mean the kind of the driver in all of that. You know,
I wanted to spend every freaking minute with my brother in college. So
it was it was that it was the fact that my brother was going there,
the fact that I got a chance to play QB and the fact that
they were gonna let me duel sport it and play basketball, all right,
And that was I mean the Big East back in two thousand and seven,
two thousand and eight, I mean that's the Kemba Walkers. It was still
rocking in the Big East. Not that it's not anymore. There's I mean
Nova and everybody's still in it. But for in terms of the Big East
Madison Square Garden Tournament, I grew up wanting to play in that tournament and
I had my chance. Now I had a lot of fun, and I
got my chance taken away. But you learn from your mistakes and you figure
out exactly what you want to do in life. And you know what it
was. It was a blessing because what it made me do is it made
me focus on my craft. And once I got the understanding of routine and
getting better and you know what I mean, just really putting in meaningful work
at my at my craft, at my position and my art form, everything
started taking off for me. I started having a boatload of boatload of success.
And you know what we started. We started winning some football games and
having some more fun on the field. Well, you took the conversation exactly
where I was going to go down. You referred to it quickly before.
We've all had our moments in college that we look back on and we're not
proud of. But I do think that sometimes in our most difficult times,
I know, I look back to some of my both on and off the
field struggles of my whole career have really allowed me to grow to who I
am. Understand discipline, routine, process, performance, attitude. I mean,
there's a million components to it. Yeah, yeah, so you so
you bounce back. Now, so now you're you're going into your senior year,
which was really you're kind of come onto the scene moment, right,
seven hundred plus yards, eight touchdowns, really became a guy on the national
landscape for NFL teams to really say, all right, this guy. You
know, he's had his history, but this guy, this guy can play
and and and obviously it's led to where we are today. But what did
you learn through those struggles those first couple of years about who you were,
what you wanted to be, the process that it was going to take,
the discipline it was going to take, and how have you carried that forward
to have the success now you've had ten years later, Yeah, I had.
I had a very very great position. Coach at the University of Cincinnati,
Zach Johnson and coach Jay was. He was shout out, give him
a shout out. Shout out, coach j Baby, let's go. He's
he's unbelievable. He's he's I believe it. Originally an old line coach,
but he came, he came on to us and he was helping. He
was helping me out with just understanding physic the physics of football. Just like
you have a center of corps, you you have, I have a core
in your body and you have to find that balance and that strength when you're
trying to move objects. You want to get lift under people, pick them
off the ground in a sense, and then start to drive your legs.
And the way he started to describe everything, it was all clicking for me.
It was all making sense. And I had the determination of this my
last year, like I like, I'm a scrub. I shouldn't. I
got it to this point where I at least have a chance, and you
know what, an opportunity is all I need at this point because I got
to take advantage of it, and I was I was very fortunate that,
you know what I mean, I had that I had Coach Johnson there to
be able to direct like give that that discipline and that mental want you know
what I mean, want to succeed and want to do better for myself.
And he was right there pushing me both mentally and physically to the max man
and I'd love him for it. So obviously, after that senior season,
you're kind of on the map. You've kind of put all that raw talent
that people saw in you since you were an high school It kind of all
came together, and now it's time to see can I make a career of
this? Can I can I take this to the next level? And a
story that I just found super relatable and really interesting. So Ozzie knewsome the
general manager of the Baltimore Race story. So it's it all right, I'll
let you tell it. I'll let you tell it and maybe hopefully it's the
same one I have. I'll tell you what I look back on it.
So I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Ozzieknews obviously Hall of fame,
Browny, hall of famer, all around. Just you get you hear nothing
but but praise when you hear Ozzie Knwsom, especially around Cleveland or or the
Baltimore area, and it was it was just a very my uncle when I
was when I was a kid and he was playing for him. He got
a picture signed by Ozzie k Newsom too, the Kelsey Boys, and I'm
sure my dad has it at the house, and that's pretty cool. That's
somewhere and we were we were kids, and I'm like, I barely got
to see the guy play, right, So I was. I was born
in eighty nine. But like they knew like who Ozzy was. He was
a Hall of Famer, so they knew that, you know, the boys
would probably appreciate this. At some point in time. Well twenty some years
down the line, here I am interviewing for a job for the Baltimore Ravens
during the combine and I walk into the room just had an unbelievably cool conversation
with Hardball. He was talking about how he had some roots up up in
Cleveland, and I walk in on my high horse, just thinking, Man,
this thing's going great so far. I get to meet the guy that,
you know what I mean, I've wanted to meet since I was a
kid. And he I walk in big smiles to go to shake his hand
and shakes my hand. Hey, sit down. I was like, oh,
what I do? What I do? That felt like I was in
the principal's office. Man, I sit down. He starts to play some
film, and there might have been a little bit of hello, like a
little bit more conversation than this, but as I remember, this is all
I remember. I just pressed play. He pressed play, and we started
going over all my personal misconducts, like all my like just flags, just
flags because of bad attitude and uncontrollable. And he pauses and he looks at
me, said, son, are you an asshole? I looked. I
was like, I mean on the on the field, on the field,
yeah, I played with a certain aggression. But I'm one of the nicest
guys you'll ever like. I'm very respectable, respectful. I like, I
treat everyone with the same respect I want to be treated with. And I'm
just trying to like sell him. At this point, I'm like, ah,
you just you do my bluff. You're scrambling, You're just scrambling.
Well, your story is exactly the story I was hoping you were going to
share because I just found that unbelievable. Too bad you couldn't have gone and
played for him. I'm sure he probably regrets not drafting you. He had
a great point. Okay, I didn't leave the room like man, that
was the worst ever. Why would he treat me like I left? I
guess I had a point. He's onto something. I gotta fix that.
My my, my combined memory really the only memory I have of the Combine.
Fortunately he didn't call me an asshole. But it was not a great.
It was not a great. That's true, that's fair. That's a
good distinction. That's a good distinction. That's on me. So I walk
into the Jets so at the time, I mean, Jeanie's the head coach.
So I walk in and you know we're I had read you know,
we're walking in. You feel like you're the king. Shit, you're shaking
hands and kissing babies. So there's a there's like twenty five guys in this
room, right and you have a ten minute conversation for anybody who hasn't been
to the Combine. Obviously, you go from like room to room, it's
like speed dating and you meet everybody. So I walk in and I shake
his hand. He introduces himself, and I go around and shake twenty people's
hands and I sit down. He grabs the clicker of the of the remote
to play video, just like you said, and he goes, what's his
name? And it was like some random guy. I'm like, I don't
know, sir. He's like, what's his name? I don't know.
He went like five or six people and I didn't have a clue, and
he goes, what's my name? I said, oh, your coach Mangini.
He goes, you don't really not much paying attention for detail. Huh.
He could have put on me scoring twenty five touchdowns on that film.
It didn't matter. I was broken. I was broken. I walked out
of that room in a sweat, and I was like, there's no chance
in hell the Jets draft me. They didn't. They did not draft me.
They drafted Durrell. Revus goes, show how much they know. But
I, buddy, Once something like that happens, you're done. There's mentally
you are in your under the table. I feel like I feel like during
the draft, like these guys have a secret, like it's kind of it's
kind of pleasuring for them to see guys to start squirming in their seat like,
uh, no question, Like, who's gonna handle the pressure here?
It's exhausting, it's exhausting. Well, uh, we take comfort to know
we've all had we all had one of those moments. But I'm yours to
me is the best. I just there's something about a Hall of Fame tight
end GM now looking back on hindsight, and now that it's you and you've
had the career and you're probably gonna break every record he ever had, We're
gonna take a quick break, so make sure you stay tuned for more from
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eight. All right, so let's fast forward. So obviously, you do
not get taken by the Baltire Ravens. You get drafted by the Chiefs thir
third round pick, twenty thirteen. Andy Reid is just coming in. Andy
Reid has talked a lot in the past, especially leading up to the Super
Bowl and even before that, about how he had a lot of confidence in
you because he got to know you when his brother, when your brother was
in Philly with him. So when you would go around, when you would
go visit your brother, like, were you meeting Andy Reid at practice?
Were you around the facility? Like what was that relationship with with Andy Reid
before he was your coach? I think it was. It kind of as
I started meeting everybody around the facility, just being the little brother and the
facility, I kind of I don't know, everyone just started kind of letting
Andy and they're like, yeah, he's not Yeah, he's a good deal.
He's he's got a little type of problem in the field. He's good
dude, good dude. And then I finally got to meet because his son
played a temple. Okay, so when when Timber would join the Big East
my senior year, we played actually at Lincoln Financial. Right, So as
we're playing, I'm leaving, I'm going to say goodbye to my brother in
the tunnel, and he introduces me to coach Reid, and I'm like starstruck
at this point, I'm like the wall risk. Oh shit, Andy Reid.
So I shake his hand. We started talking about football a little bit,
and after that it was I didn't hear from him at all, like
during like the combine and anything like that, So it was I guess we
did had we had one of the meetings that you just were mentioning. Nothing,
nothing drastic, nothing d actually just wanted to know general football stuff.
But yeah, no, no, Being able to be under coach Reid has
been such a blessing. And yeah, I mean he started off as as
he's an offensive guru and his his start off at Green Babe, I believe
in the tight end room at one point in time, he definitely was the
tight ends coach. Then he went to QB coach and then he went on
for there to end up getting getting the head coaching job in Philly. But
he's he's had so much to do with the progression of like how mentally like
I don't know how mentally strong you have to be at the tight end position.
The first thing he said, he said, I need you every single
play, I need you out there. I need like this is he's demanded,
like certain things that have done so much for my career, to be
able to get the snaps, to be able to grow as a player,
and the fact that he has that offensive mind, the old the old b
yu you know what I mean, right guard coming through the lane on power.
You know, just that old school mentality. It's one upfront. He
demands that toughness out of all his players. And I've been fortunate, I
mean, not only to learn mentally from everything he installs. I mean I'm
listening to when he's installing place for the running backs, the wide receivers.
You know, just you never know, you never know what coach read.
He puts guys everywhere. So I just just so it's so grateful to be
able to to grow under his offense and play for his team. Man.
Yeah, when you guys come in for a Wednesday, you know, so
Wednesdays like the first big first and second down. For those listening. You
have Monday, you come in, watch tape from the game before Tuesday we'll
have off, and then Wednesday's really the first big install, especially with the
passing game. So like when you when you come in and you sit in
that first meeting in the morning, Like, is there an excitement level that
this week there could be something brand new? Like you never know what you're
going to be asked to do. That that's got to be super exciting.
And for a guy like Andy Reid who's kind of that has that reputation of
he's just going to draw stuff on the board, he's gonna kind of spitball
until he kind of formulates his game plan to be one of his main weapons.
That's got to be super exciting coming in and saying, I wonder what
they have in store this week. Like I said, I've been so fortunate.
I mean, he's he's put a lot of trust in a lot of
guys on the team. But I'm not I'm not saying any more than than
myself, but I mean I'm just thankful for how much trust he's given me
in this offense to be able to run these kind of routes that that typically
aren't ran by you know, tight ends, split out and uh and on
the flip side, I have a lot to appreciate for Andy Heck. Not
not as much, ay, but Andy Heck's the run game coordinator and I
mean he's him and Eric b enemy in terms of making sure that the strength
of the run game matches the strength of the blockers the people around them,
splitting it out, knowing that I'm split out running a lot more routes out
there. It splitting me out isn't just an indicator to pass now, it's
an indicator to they might run it or run the pass option out of it.
So just being being able to understand creatively where the coaches are going with
it, you can get excited every single week about that. Yeah, I
mean, especially if they're dialing up stuff to where you're putting up crazy numbers
every week. You know, man, it's it's better. There's nothing better
than like being in that role, that role where you just know and each
week it's like, give me more, challenge me more, what else can
we do? And you're you're you're watching other guys, you're stealing stuff.
I had a routine every Thursday, I would put on you can you know
back in the day, Gonzalez, when you know the guys that were the
most productive that week. I would be like, all right, I'm gonna
go back. So every Thursday, before i'd leave the leave the facility,
I'd go back and look and you know, and then the next day you're
like begging the coach, like we need to run like that. And then
sometimes sometimes they're honest and you're like, well, Kelsey runs that route really
good. You ain't running that, And I'm like, you're right, you're
right. No, I'm being serious, But like we would you I don't
know, I would try to scavenge the whole thing. And our coaches were
really open minded when we were rolling. They had a lot of trust and
Cam and I that we would kind of have some free freestyle ability and whatnot.
But I remember when when we were rolling those best years and when I
had my best years, Wednesday's install was like my favorite day of the week
because you knew a big part of it was going to be for you.
Sure, second down, and then you know, obviously on third we'd get
a lot too, but you know, you you knew that a big part
of the offense was going to run through you. It was just a matter
of how they were going to do it this week. Get your cup of
Joe, put your seatbeled on, and get pumped up. See what happens.
It's fun. It's fun. Especially in the UH, I mean the
past. The passing game has evolved so much just in terms of having big
guys singled up whenever when I mean, we got we got crazy weapons.
So whenever he's dialing up plays for these the front side, whenever I'm singled
up on the back side there where I'm kind of like on the backside,
check down maybe or something like that, I'm just like, throw a little
option on the back there, Andy, you know, just throw a little
I mean, na, he's gonna be coming back to me with almost a
sense of urgency anyways, might as well, you know, have a throw
for him, not just running it. I'm always I'm a big time back
back side of the route. Oh, I'm a little little option on the
back side there. I love being backside by myself. I want everyone else
to get out of the way. I hate when guys were in the way
and just you guys go on that side, you run your three man concept
and I'll be back here by myself. Just don't send anybody over here.
Now, when when you bring that to him, is he pretty receptive?
Like you've probably earned his trust that now? I don't think it's ever like
really like it's never like changed that week like they might it might go down
down the road, he might just give it a try right here, but
he's like, he's like, I got this, I'll make the plays,
you run the routes. Yeah, I don't. I don't. I think
that's probably too much. I think that's probably fair. Yeah, I think
his track record is pretty good. So twenty thirteen, your rookie year,
I know you had a knee injury, kind of were slow out of the
gates, and then twenty fourteen and beyond you probably you arguably have the greatest
stretch of tight end production in NFL history. I mean, I mean starting
at fourteen, and before we dive into that, because I have a trivia
question for you, but before we get into that, Alex Smith. So
you play four of your you know, four all pro level years with Alex
Smith, and you know, seventeen they draft Mahomes, but Smith still,
Alex still plays, has his best year. So here you are probably saying,
all right, you know the young kid who obviously will touch on here
in a second, but you know, the young kid's gonna have to wait
his turn, maybe an Aaron Rodgers type field, maybe wait a couple of
years for for Alex to to roll out the rest of his career, but
sure enough, after year one, twenty seventeen, they trade him to Washington.
What was the reaction yourself, the guys who had really had tremendous success
with Alex, Like, what was that reaction? Did did you have trust
that Andy knew what he was doing? Did you have trust that you saw
Patrick as a rookie and said, this kid is special? Or was there
still some level of disappointment that your main your dude just got sent shit,
you know, got sent shopping and it was it was And I think I
don't know. I think a little bit has to do with it being you
know, you have so much appreciation for a guy that does it right every
single every single day, every single time. He's never you know, he's
always in it for the team. And that's what Alex was. He was
the ultimate leader, ultimate competitor, and you just appreciated that so much.
You wanted to win one for him, you know what I mean. There
was a little bit of doubter saying that he could he didn't have it to
win it. I'm like, man, that's bull crap. I've seen way
worse qbs win it, and I know Alex Smith can lead this team to
a championship, and man, there was there was some plays here and there
in the playoffs where I was like, man, we were a couple of
plays away from really giving ourselves a chance. But I mean, I I
where really ripped me was that I just never you know, got there with
him. You know, so that that story is closed and that that one
sucks. But I mean you had full trust in coach Reid and the and
the young gun man. I mean Pat, Pat showed so much in practice
during the season, you name it, man, he was. He was
in there throwing stuff around and everybody was in awe throughout the entire entire practice
squad and everything during the throughout the seas and so so as a rookie,
So I want to dive into that because I think that's interesting. So as
a rookie, Alex is obviously the starter, and it was clear from day
one that Alex was going to be the guy. So Patrick's running the scout
team each week, he's he's simulating the other team's offense, their quarterback.
So did you guys find yourself after a couple of weeks, Like you know,
usually when the defense is on the offense at least on the teams I've
been is kind of off on the side, not over, not really paying
attention, Like did you find yourself being like this guy is different, Like
there's something special about this kid, and find yourself now you're watching the Scout
team every single time? Yeah, every single time. Like and it was
it was fun because what what Pet would do is Pet would literally have fun
and see what he could get away with. Back there. It was like
it was just like he was just back there none chalan. I mean,
don't get me wrong, He's still professional, you know what I mean.
It's not like he was out there pissing the coaches off or anything. He
was just making so many incredible throws that it just turned into prime time Scout
Team. Yeah. And I mean, guys, guys, all the time
I saw him literally roll out and huck one on the on the run at
least seventy five eighty yards. And when he did that, I mean,
it's like the first or second play of a two minute drill, you know
what I mean. We start back at the twenty and it's he's just rolling
out and just hucks it touchdown two minutes over to the drives over. You
know, it's just like this, dude can wing it anywhere at any time.
And I think it's important for people listening the context of that. So
when you're running scout team quarterback, you're they're literally the coach is just holding
up a card like diagram. So if you're the quarterback running the other team,
there's not a ton of detail. The routes are drawn. They kind
of give our here's the protection. They kind of use your own verbiage.
Here's the protection for the old line. Yeah, we're gonna try to throw
this to the X that's Julio Jones or whoever that is we're going. But
after once the huddle breaks, those guys can really do whatever they want.
I mean, you could run around. It's not like a set play because
you're just running a simulated play on a piece of notebook paper. Yeah,
and then to see him the last two years almost play like that in real
life, I can only imagine how must what it must have been like when
he was running fake plays in practice. Yeah, I mean he's been doing
the whole i mean, left handed throw behind the back, like little stuff
like that, just messing around being a being a football guy and having fun
on the football field. But he takes the game so serious before we even
install a single play by Wednesday, Like I'm talking notebooks filled filled chicken scratch,
but filled, just absolutely filled of just I don't even known. I
call it a special book. That's amazing. So so you're having this incredible
success. I told you I had a trivia question for you. Okay,
okay, So you were the first guy first tight end in NFL history four
consecutive seasons over a thousand yards. Okay, who were you tied with and
then eventually broke? Who was record holder? Just in case anybody wants to
know, I feel like he's a New York kid. Who is he?
Man? I don't know. I mean, it's not important. In college,
I remember he transferred from Notre Dame to Miami. You're on, You're
closed? Are you kidding me? As soon as you hit that mark,
I was like, oh, I got a chance to break that one.
I got a chance. I thought I was gonna get four two, and
then my season broke along with my foot. But I remember texting with you
that night and and I mean this genuinely, like I'm I was joking around
about that, but I remember genuinely like that was something that when I when
I got my third year in twenty sixteen, twenty and fifteen, we went
to the Super Bowl. Then obviously there was that let down from losing it,
and then that was like a big motivation for me to like hold that
level. And there was talk that no one had done three getting that getting
that third one like it represented everything that I had tried to have my career
emulate, right, consistency, be productive, be reliable. I was never
the flashiest, but like just try to be the guy that was there every
day. And then I remember when you got your third in twenty eighteen,
I was like, you know what, Like I had watched you so much.
You were one of the handful of guys that every Thursday I would put
on all their targets and just see like what he was doing, and you
were. I mean, the reality is you were doing stuff in the passing
game that no one else was really doing. Other guys were productive, there
was production, but they weren't running the routes you were, and the shakes,
you know in the red zone, really sitting on that foot and crossing
face on those most tight ends, weren't running routes like you. And I
remember I was like, you know what borrowing something crazy happened. Kelsey's gonna
get four in a row. And I remember texting you the night. I
knew you were close, and I checked after the game and I knew you
broke it. I remember texting you and I was just like, if any
guy is gonna set that bar, like, I'm just glad it was you
because I just feel like you production wise, there's other guys, kittle,
we can talk about all that, but your style of play tight end,
in my eyes, is very unique, and I think it's awesome. I
think it fits your team, I think it fits your quarterback, and you've
had arguably the greatest six or seven year run that anyone at the positions had.
So a little pack to myself, but mostly I was thrilled that you
were the guy that got that. For sure, I was. I mean,
I jokingly say I had had my eyes on that thing. But you've
got to be so fortunate, especially in this game and at this position,
a position where you're demanded to be everywhere on the field and do everything,
a lot of wear and tear, a lot of mileage. At the tight
end position, it's you've got to be fortunate to stay on the field to
get that opportunity, and on top of that, to have these plays ran
for you or you know what I mean, called for you. And that's
where there's so much that goes into it. And I mean we just mentioned
kindled Urt another guy. There's so many guys, and then there's guys that
you just wish that, you know what I mean, why don't they just
give them another targets here and there? Man, the guys has got sauce,
like I know, like a Darren Waller, a guy you know out
in Oakland right now, the another Golden Domer up in Minnesota. Yeah,
Kyle Rudolph, Yeah, I mean, I wish he would get more targets.
Man, I do too. That offense over the years has been kind
of a run offense under center naked's play action. But he's a really good
player, I think, And again I'm probably biased because this is the era
that we're all playing in. But you know, in talking with I mean
even a lot of the old Hall of Fame legendary guys that I've had a
chance to talk to him in the last couple of weeks, they were kind
of isolated. Unique animals in their day, right, there was they had
one or two competitors that they would kind of jockey with for all Pro or
for yardage leaders. In the last five to eight years, it's been there's
been a lot of guys. I mean, you just named him yourself,
Kittle Gronk now being back Waller jumped on the scene this year, Jimmy Graham,
zach Ertz. And the one thing all these teams have in common is
those are all some of the best teams in the league. Yeah, I
mean you can argue it, man, I mean the heck the I think
it's you might have jumped it off, but they started naming past Super Bowls
and it's like, man, every single one of them had a at least
there was there was at least one team and a lot of instances there were
two teams out there that had great tight ends or tight ends that that had
a lot of production and control in the middle of the field, man messing
and being able to tie that in with passing, passing game, run game.
Just the middle of the field has to be dominated. And I mean
the tight end position is it's undefeated. Me it's a mismatch anywhere on the
field. In my mind. Yeah, I mean so, I mean you
you just touched on it. You're a natural segue. Your segue ability is
off the charts. You must have my notes. Obviously this last, this
last super Bowl. Of course, you you guys were super Bowl champs.
You you, you know, you culminated an unbelievable season with the Super Bowl.
The arguably the two probably not even arguably unanimously the best two tight ends
in the NFL today match up. In that game, it was a huge
story, you know, huge storyline all throughout the week. I was part
of the pregame coverage and me and Tony Gonzalez spent four days just breaking down
you and Kittle and why you guys were so important. We all know that
part, the part everybody is dying to know because I didn't get to experience
it. My one Super Bowl appearance was miserable and we lost and it was
not fun. But you, on the other hand, you got the enjoyment
of the after party and the parade and the fun. Like the game we
all watched. What was it like to win that Super Bowl and everything that
came from that point? Man, It's like walking up the tallest water slide
and just jumping and just in that wave. Dude just hands up and all
just you know what I mean. It was an absolute blast to the moment
we got down there in Miami. How everyone treated us, the hospitality to
to when when the anthem goes off, the chiefs say chiefs at the end
of the national anthem, and you just you could feel how many people,
how many kids of city fans were in the stadium, and it meant so
much. It like it. It built up the tension, and you wanted
to win it that much more, you know, And not that you didn't
want to win it like the most already, you know. I mean,
it just it just keeps adding to it. And and the built up emotion
of coming back in the fourth quarter, the perseverance. I mean, it's
been a ride that I it's it's hard for me to explain, but it
has been. It's been so much fun enjoying this with the guys on the
team. Uh though. The locker room after that Super Bowl is something that
I'll always remember. Man. I saw this a couple of the guys dancing
with the little with their kids in the locker room, Like, man,
those are these are moments these kids, you know, what I mean.
I'm not gonna lie. I was. I was jealous. I'll be honest.
I'm a man, I'm a I'm a man of my word, and
I'm honest I was. I was a little bit of hayten. I got
my one crack at it. Up till this point, there's always this year.
But I got my one crack at it. And uh, we had
alleged we had an all time season back in fifteen and we we were seventeen,
and we were seventeen and one fifteen and one. In the regular season,
we had beaten the Seahawks, then we had beaten the Cardinals, two
of the top teams, and we felt like that was our year and we
had our shot, and we just completely laid an egg. And my my
sitting in my room that night, in my lonely hotel room in Santa clar
I'm sure it does not come near what new experience, but it was tough.
Yeah, it was. Listen, that's why we play, right,
I mean, that's the thrills are amazing, and the and the highs are
amazing, but the lows are tough. And whether it's a personal low or
a team low, you play this game long enough. You uh, you
experienced it all, man, you experienced it all. Now. I remember,
I remember the year before Pat came in, so Alex's last year.
And this one really grinds me talking about Alex Smith is that we're playing Tennessee
and Tennessee comes into the house and we're we go up twenty one nothing.
I have a touchdown like a hundred yards in the first quarter or like first
half, and we're rolling these dudes a two minute drill. At the end
of the first half, I get smoked, like knocked out. I felt
like Mike Tyson came out of left field and just hammered me, like I
wake up. I'm getting out of a what do you call it. I
was getting looked at by a machine at X ray or something MRI. I
don't know why I missed the MRI either way. So I was getting out
of the MRI and I was like, oh shit, oh shit, what's
the score of the game, because it's the second half of everything were we
were up twenty one and now now we're down three. It's twenty twenty four
twenty one, and I'm like, oh my gosh, like, how did
how did he how did he even get here, I got uncontrolled, just
couldn't control it of sitting there Aunty and my my seat, just trying to,
you know, hope that Alex has this last drive for a touchdown in
him. And those are helpless feelings, man, those are helpless feelings.
So we're so I'm doing some of the stuff for Fox. You're getting ready
to play in the game. I was doing some TV stuff and me and
Tony Gonzalez obviously and Gronk they had us talk about you and Kittle a lot,
and you know, comparing and contrasting, and I know, you know,
everyone knows back in eighteen, you guys kind of jockeyed back and forth
for the all time receptions title. But the thing I'm more curious about,
like hearing Tony Gonzalez a chief's legend, someone that I'm sure right when you
got drafted there you knew you were kind of falling and every record you were
going for, every I mean, there was no more gold standard at the
position across the league. But this is a guy that shared your uniform and
it is in your franchise record books. Like how aware of that were you?
Because I know when I got drafted, So when I got drafted to
Chicago. Mike Dicko was like a legend. He oh, he hung over
everything with the franchise. But he played in nineteen sixty one, right,
so like it was a long time ago, but he's still casted a really
large shadow. But Tony was still playing. I mean he was still playing
at a high level just in Atlanta. Like, how aware were you when
you got drafted? Like I got some the last time they saw a big
time guy at this position, they arguably saw the greatest player who's ever played
ever. Put it on, dude, I'm when I tell you, I
had never even thought I would like from the from the get go, from
the get go, I get drafted. I'm twenty three, I missed my
first year. I'm twenty four before I played my first game. So I'm
in my mind, I'm already. Tony got in the league when he was
like twenty or something. It was something crazy like young. It's probably you
were probably nineteen when you got in the league. Team. Yeah, he
has one and done in college. You know it goes. So I'm I'm
like, I'm five yards back. I'm like, I'm at least I'm three
to four years behind schedule. Already. So I'm like, there's no chance
for me to even catch this guy. Let me just be the greatest I
could be, now you know what I mean. But if I'm gonna wear
the same uniform, I gotta learn from this dude. I gotta fear.
Why is he this great? What makes him this great? So I went
out and I went straight to the film room my first or second weekend,
and I got a from two thousand and two to or two, from two
thousand and three to two thousand and nine, eight or nine, all Tony
Gazala's film All Tape, And I'll tell you what, it was a pleasure
watching Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson as a dual threat. Yeah. Those were
some dudes right there. Those are good names. Yeah, those were those
were shout out to those guys. Shout out. So we're setting an all
time podcast record for shoutouts I got. I got so many left. I
love it. We're not done yet, keep going. But so I'm watching
all this film and I'm like, man, this guy's like a machine,
Like he has to be doing this all the time. So when I when
I went to go talk to him and pick his brain about it, he
everything he was talking about wasn't even what was really on the field. It
was all all the work that he did in practice, all this and it
was like in my as a professional, I had to change how I even
looked at being an NFL player because I'm thinking NFL player, Oh and I'm
just playing football and now I you know, I got the bucks to do
it, to have some fun, and I didn't. I didn't realize what
it meant to have a routine, have a consistent way to see yourself progress,
and to to make sure that your fundamentals are correct that end taking care
of the body, like he was saying, I mean, there's there's there's
legends that he only ate fish and didn't do red meat, and was this
like chiseled Gonzalez just a beast of a beast man, but he like just
that in the hundred catches before practice. So what I got from t TG
was that there was so much that he did on the field that he had
already been practicing, and he had been through so much of it through practice,
through through you know, just visualizing stuff coming together that you know,
you have to be this this type of professional to have success in this league
and obviously you have. You have one of the best, if not the
best, guy to not only learn from across the league, but to share
the same franchise history with is is pretty unique. So you know, the
guy that you just talked about has held he holds every single tight end record.
His production is is insane. And I'm a big believer that and all
as selfless and as team oriented as guys are, and and and all that
being said, I do believe that there is a sense of pride and ego
in all great players. I don't I put myself in that category, and
not all the time. I'm proud of it. So I'm gonna put you
on the spot right now when you take a look, and I'm sure we've
all done it. I know I've looked. When you look at where you
are and what you've been able to accomplish in seven years, and you see
guys like Tony and Gates and Witten and Shannon, and you start seeing that
list in the back of your mind, are you saying, if I can,
if I can do this for a few more years, Like I can
see myself on that list with the all time greats, Like does that motivate
you? Like I know when I got later in my career, I'll be
honest, it motivated me. It still does. Yeah. Have you Have
you taken a second to realize in seven years how much ground you've made up?
Yeah? No, I feel like without a doubt. I mean I've
I've always. I mean, heck, I've grown up and told you know,
don't don't play the game list you want to be the greatest. You
know that that's just the mentality that my father and the culture that I grew
up playing sports around. So that mentality of mentality of being the greatest and
wanting to be the you know, at least in mentions with the greats being
on that Mount Rushmore, uh per se. But it's it's just I didn't
get here trying to chase it, you know what I mean, it just
kind of happens. You don't. You don't, you don't get there with
the mentality of oh man, I got a I got one hundred yards this
game and a hundred yards this game that I can you know, I can
get closer to you know, getting over a thousand this year. During the
year, it's just so much you're you're in the routine of getting excited about
the plays, getting excited about you know, situational football, that it all
just comes together for you. And it took it took probably my third year
to really like hone in on that, Like, all right, it's not
just every first down get up and you know, throw the first down signal.
You have to focus and and and channel your mind in the right direction
and there. Yeah, and to that point, there's so much that goes
into it, right, and some of it's in your control, some of
it's in our control, but there's also a lot of parts about our about
our position that are in other people's control, and being in the right place,
being healthy, having the right I just that was my way of just
making sure because I went back and looked where you stand. But the guys
that you're up with production wise played as long as I have. You are
only going into your eighth season. I mean, you have a long way
to go here, and I obviously everyone wishes you nothing but health and success,
but there's no reason that as long as things continue to go well and
knock on wood, I want to see you chase those records because I think
if anyone has that ability, you might be the I don't know if anyone
ever thought Gonzalez would be within reach. And you have a long way to
go, don't get me wrong, But if anyone can do it, you've
gotten off to I think as great a start as anyone could imagine. And
true, he's got just smirking those numbers, which I'm so happy for that
dude. Man, he's such a good dude, and he's way younger than
us, way younger. I finally started clicking by my third year in the
league, and it's been clicking for some for about three years now. Hopefully
he resets the tight end market for all of you guys. Man, he
is about to break. I hope he makes a billion dollars. Let me
tell you, man, this, this was awesome. Well, man,
I'll tell you well, every time we've been together, whether it's been at
Pro Bowls or doing one chip challenges, this conversation, whether it's been a
text, I got a ton of respect for you. Man. You're fun
to watch. You're a great dude. I've always enjoyed being around you,
watching you, texting with you, chatting with you, and for you to
come on and be a part of this story, the story of the evolution
of the tight end who you've now you know, brought it to a level
that I don't know anyone really ever could have imagined has been. Has been
really cool for me, and I hope you enjoyed it, and I think
everyone's going to really enjoy having having your perspective as we kind of lay out
this this history of the position. Definitely, Man, I appreciate you doing
this, man getting everybody a little educated on the tight end world. Man,
it's a tight knit family. Baby, You're always one of the greatest
in my mind. Man, thanks you always forever. All Right, I
appreciate it. But he's good talking to you. Stay safe and uh,
I'm sure we'll cross past this season, all right, g K, see
you, buddy. So as we've entered this modern NFL landscape, the personalities
of these tight ends have really come out, and Travis Kelsey's got to be
at the top of that list. He's a fun guy. He loves life,
he loves to live it to its fullest. And as good of a
player he is, he's as fun and as energetic and as good of a
guy. He's somebody I've enjoyed getting to know over the years as our careers
have overlapped I've loved watching him from Afar, and that was as fun a
conversation as we've had during this entire series. If you've enjoyed the show,
don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and tell your friends. Next
episode, I'll be talking to George Kittle, so be sure to listen.
In t E one is a Blue Wire podcast. Sugar Ray, Leonard,
Roberto Duran, Marvelous, Marvin Hagler, and Thomas Hearns legends whose four way
rivalry define one of the greatest errors in boxing history, relive their decade of
dominance in the new Showtime Sports documentary The Kings, a four parts series premiering
Sunday, June sixth, only on Showtime