![\"Travis](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2254654660-1-1.jpg\")
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Have the Kansas City Chiefs finally found their Travis Kelce replacement? They do in this last 2026 NFL mock draft.<\/p>\n
Travis Kelce<\/a> of the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> is back for another season, which is a great thing for the franchise, but there\u2019s a good chance the 2026-27 run<\/a> will mark his final season in the NFL<\/a>.<\/p>\n With that in mind, it\u2019s important to the Chiefs franchise to secure a successor for Kelce, and what better place to do it than in the 2026 NFL draft?<\/p>\n The draft is really an ideal spot to land a Kelce replacement, because if they draft a young tight end out of college, that player will have an entire year to learn and prepare, since Kelce is back this season. So, if the Kansas City Chiefs secure a tight end, that player will have a year to develop under the wings of Kelce and the Chiefs\u2019 staff.<\/p>\n Kansas City Chiefs Secure Travis Kelce Successor in 2026 Draft Scenario<\/p>\n Jordan Reid of ESPN has unleashed<\/a> a full, seven-round mock with all 32 teams\u2019 picks in the 2026 NFL draft. For the Kansas City Chiefs, he doesn\u2019t have them picking a tight end early, but he does have them selecting a talented one later in the draft.<\/p>\n For the team\u2019s No. 148 pick, Reid has the Chiefs drafting tight end Joe Royer out of Cincinnati. At 24 years old, Royer is one of the older players in the draft, but that means he comes with experience.<\/p>\n Royer is a two-year starter from Cincinnati, and he went there following three seasons at Ohio State. While his Buckeye days weren\u2019t great, he bloomed in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n \u201cRoyer is low-cut with a long torso and good foot quickness,\u201d his official NFL profile states<\/a>. \u201cHe is better over the first two levels, with a more basic route tree allowing him to flow. He\u2019s physical as a pass-catcher when needed and makes combat catches that others might drop.\u201d<\/p>\n His profile adds that Royer \u201cshows enough toughness and technique as a blocker to expect him to improve in that area\u201d and has TE2 or TE3 potential if he can \u201cpolish his game.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, the Chiefs will need a TE1 when Kelce has left. But, that could absolutely be Royer with the right training.<\/p>\n Kansas City Chiefs Get Edge Help Early in 2026 NFL Draft, According to Projection<\/p>\n Reid also has the Chiefs taking Rueben Bain Jr., an edge out of Miami, for their No. 9 pick. It makes sense for the team to go with an edge as early as possible.<\/p>\n In the piece, Reid points out that it\u2019s been a long nine years since the Chiefs have picked in the top 10. In that draft, they got quarterback Patrick Mahomes<\/a>, so that\u2019s a good sign.<\/p>\n \u201cBain is a rugged, high-effort edge rusher who brings an immediate identity to that position group,\u201d he states<\/a>. \u201cHe checks every characteristic defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes on the edge as a densely built, heavy-handed playmaker with alignment versatility.\u201d<\/p>\n He adds that \u201cBain\u2019s short arms are a historical outlier, and teams are aware of the off-field issues that have surfaced, but I still believe he will go in the top half of Round 1.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAnne Erickson<\/a> is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Chiefs\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Have the Kansas City Chiefs finally found their Travis Kelce replacement? They do in this last 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":872463,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2063],"tags":[346,7,118,110,2438,2437,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-872462","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kansas-city-chiefs","8":"tag-chiefs","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-kansas-city","11":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs","12":"tag-kansascity","13":"tag-kansascitychiefs","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116452299981877923","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/872463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}