In a new record, Travis Kelce just became the Chiefs’ all-time touchdown leader with his 21-yard score against the Broncos, but that bit of history did little to calm growing Chiefs rumors about the future of their offense.
Kansas City has sputtered to 5-5, and every stumble only sharpens the question of what life after Kelce is going to look like for Patrick Mahomes.
In his latest mock draft for ESPN, Matt Miller leans straight into that conversation, projecting the Chiefs to address tight end in Round 1 instead of reaching for a running back. Miller notes that Kansas City’s offensive slide traces in part to a lack of explosive ground game and to Kelce’s reduced dominance, and that combination makes a pass-catching weapon a more logical swing than another back.
According to Miller, unless a premium running back like Love unexpectedly falls into their lap, the Chiefs are unlikely to burn another first-rounder at that spot after the Clyde Edwards-Helaire miss in 2020.
Instead, his mock has Kansas City targeting tight end Sadiq as Kelce’s eventual replacement. At 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, Sadiq profiles as a modern move tight end: fluid enough to separate against coverage and dangerous after the catch.
Even with only 30 receptions this season, he has found the end zone six times, exactly the kind of red-zone efficiency Andy Reid covets.
Miller argues that Sadiq’s ability to uncover underneath, shake defenders, and rack up YAC would translate seamlessly into Kelce’s current role. In the short term, it would allow the Chiefs to feature more two-tight-end looks and force defenses to pick their poison between Kelce, Sadiq, and Kansas City’s speed on the perimeter. Long term, it gives Mahomes a succession plan at the position that has defined this era of Chiefs football.
Kelce himself has shown how far that bar sits. After breaking the franchise touchdown record in the loss to Denver, he brushed off the milestone, telling reporters he had no interest in talking about individual numbers after such a damaging defeat.
For a 34-year-old star who clearly cares more about rings than records, the idea of Kansas City quietly grooming his heir while he’s still producing makes plenty of football sense.
If Miller’s projection comes close to reality, the Chiefs would be admitting what everyone can see: the window with Mahomes and Kelce is still open, but it will not stay that way forever.
Using a first-round pick on Sadiq would be less about replacing a legend overnight and more about making sure that when Kelce finally does walk away, the offense he helped define doesn’t collapse with him.
