Travis Kelce has carved out a career as a Chiefs тιԍнт end that already features three Super Bowls and a résumé bound for the Hall of Fame after his retirement, but he revealed Friday that he used to envision playing quarterback like the signal-caller Kansas City will face in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.
“Josh [Allen] is who I used to dream of being like in the NFL,” Kelce told reporters Friday, according to the ᴀssociated Press.
“Big, athletic quarterback. Big arm. Being able to be a dual-threat guy. His ability to do everything — you can tell, he really took the bull by the horns and been their leader up front, and channeled that. Guys come in and out of the building and he’s the main guy that makes them go, and I have a lot of respect for that guy.”
Kelce does have history as a quarterback, playing that position in high school and committing to Cincinnati, in part, because of the chance to possibly continue as a signal-caller, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.
As a senior at Cleveland Heights High School, Kelce threw for 1,523 yards, 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions, according to his MaxPreps page, and he also collected an additional 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
But he only attempted one pᴀss with the Bearcats — a 39-yard touchdown pᴀss in 2012, his final year before the Chiefs drafted him — and has gone 1-for-3 in the NFL, instead proceeding to collect a string of 10 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to open his career and adding 823 during his 12th campaign in 2024.
He has remained a constant for quarterback Patrick Mahomes as receivers have cycled in and out of Kansas City, helping them win the last two Super Bowls and sit without two victories of becoming the first team to win three in a row.
Last weekend, in their divisional round win against the Texans, Kelce caught seven pᴀsses for 117 yards and a touchdown against the Texans.
And Sunday, he’ll be tasked with helping the Chiefs match any production from Allen — who has blossomed into one of the league’s top quarterbacks and could win the MVP award after a season where he threw for 3,731 yards, rushed for 531 yards and collected 40 total touchdowns — in the AFC Championship Game.
