{"id":882264,"date":"2026-05-04T14:12:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/882264\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T14:12:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:12:30","slug":"chiefs-udfa-te-john-michael-gyllenborg-saw-hometown-as-best-fit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/882264\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs\u2019 UDFA TE John Michael Gyllenborg saw hometown as best fit"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> did not address the tight end position in the 2026 NFL Draft \u2014 but the organization made an intriguing addition immediately after the event concluded.<\/p>\n

Among the first undrafted free agents to reportedly sign with the Chiefs was former Wyoming tight end John Michael Gyllenborg. Gyllenborg is a native of Leawood, Kansas<\/a>, and graduated from Rockhurst High School in Kansas City<\/a>, Missouri.<\/p>\n

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Speaking on the second day of the Chiefs\u2019 rookie minicamp on Saturday, Gyllenborg was upfront about the fact that he does not have the longest football resume. He actually did not pick up the sport until he was a senior in high school.<\/p>\n

That small high school resume began with encouragement from Rockhurst head coach Kelly Donohoe \u2014 and ended with a Division I football scholarship offer, despite having played only three high school games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up here in KC,\u201d Gyllenborg recalled, \u201cand I played every sport growing up \u2014 except football because my grandpa didn\u2019t want me to. I got to Rockhurst, and Coach Donohoe came in my senior year \u2014 it was also COVID \u2014 he was basically like, \u2018Come out and have fun with the boys. You will love it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just went out thinking it was for fun and that I was still focused on basketball or baseball,\u201d Gyllenborg continued. \u201cI ended up playing three games and got hurt, but Wyoming stuck around and offered me. That\u2019s how that all kind of happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Then-Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl took a chance on Gyllenborg\u2019s raw athleticism.<\/p>\n

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\u201cCoach Bohl, who was the coach at the time, was really tight with Donohoe,\u201d explained Gyllenborg. \u201cI think they just liked the upside I provided. I wasn\u2019t very good, but they liked the upside that I provided as a tall, lengthy, fast guy. Donohoe, through his encouragement, was like, \u2018You should go do this. You have the upside.\u2019 And here we are today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gyllenborg now finds himself a part of a team he grew up cheering for. He claimed to have attended at least one game in Kansas City in every season under head coach Andy Reid \u2014 including the 2021 season\u2019s Wild Card playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>. He realizes, however, the importance of taking a professional approach to joining his hometown team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s surreal,\u201d he remarked. \u201cI have to kind of level myself out a little bit \u2014 especially out on the field with all the coaches and everything. Wearing the uniform, it\u2019s really cool. But this is football. It\u2019s the most competitive sport ever. So, you can\u2019t let your feelings get to you. You\u2019ve got to remember that we\u2019re still out there playing ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

After going undrafted, Gyllenborg was able to choose his destination. Although he wanted to be in Kansas City, he did not make the decision lightly. Taking emotions out, he saw the Chiefs as making the most sense overall from a football and personnel standpoint.<\/p>\n

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According to the contract website\u00a0Spotrac, Gyllenborg\u00a0received $267,500 in guaranteed money\u00a0on his undrafted contract<\/a> \u2014 implying the Chiefs see him as much more than a fun local story.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to make a decision quick after the draft,\u201d Gyllenborg revealed. \u201cAt that point, knowing that the Chiefs were on the table, I was like, \u2018Yeah, I\u2019m going to the Chiefs.\u2018 I also had to separate my bias at that point and understand that I had to do what\u2019s best for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven while separating that, the Chiefs were always the best option for me,\u201d Gyllenborg admitted. \u201cTheir offense loves tight ends, and they wanted me really bad. Obviously, I wanted to be here. It was pretty much a no-brainer for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Gyllenborg admits he has received \u201ccountless texts\u201d since joining the Chiefs and knows how special this opportunity is.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of fun how excited my family and friends are,\u201d he said. \u201cAgain, this is a job. It\u2019s a business. I understand that. I\u2019m coming in locked in, but it is really exciting how excited everyone in my life and a lot of friends and family are.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Kansas City Chiefs did not address the tight end position in the 2026 NFL Draft \u2014 but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":882265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2063],"tags":[346,119170,11979,7,116524,54562,805,118,110,2438,2437,6,57,119169,109507,6095,8498],"class_list":["post-882264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-chiefs","tag-coach-donohoe","tag-craig-bohl","tag-football","tag-gyllenborg","tag-john-michael-gyllenborg","tag-kansas","tag-kansas-city","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-kansascity","tag-kansascitychiefs","tag-nfl","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-rockhurst-head-coach-kelly-donohoe","tag-rockhurst-high-school","tag-washington-state-cougars","tag-wyoming-cowboys"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116516720129093970","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882264","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=882264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/882265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}