De’Anthony Thomas was the only offensive skill position player the Chiefs added in the draft and his arrival may bring a playmaker to the Kansas City offense in spots, but it won’t fill their need for a receiver to join Dwayne Bowe.
General Manager John Dorsey says that it will have to be a group effort from the likes of Donnie Avery, Junior Hemingway and A.J. Jenkins to make the passing attack successful, but he’s also hoping that a player with two preseason catches to his name can be a factor on offense. Tight end Travis Kelce was lost to a knee injury that required microfracture surgery as a rookie, but Dorsey thinks he can be just what the Chiefs need this season.
“The way that group started to come on towards the end, and getting used to the offense, you could see that they were beginning to understand their roles and what they were supposed to do,” Dorsey said, via Greg Bedard of TheMMQB.com. “It’s going to be a collective effort. And the emergence of a Travis Kelce being able to stretch the field as a tight end, hopefully that weapon adds another element to the passing game. We took some nicks at the tight end position last year.”
Kelce has been full cleared for football activities, so he’s on track to be ready for the start of the season. With Anthony Fasano and Sean McGrath both fitting the blocking profile for the position, Kelce should have every chance to make good on the receiving potential he showed coming out of Cincinnati. The Chiefs could use it as they try to find more ways to spread the ball around in 2014.