There aren’t many third-round picks in NFL history who went on to have the career that Travis Kelce has had. The Kansas Chiefs TE, a three-time Super Bowl champion, is also a sure-shot Hall of Famer. He would easily be part of all the greatest TE lists they make. So how did a player of his caliber slip to the third round in the 2013 NFL Draft?
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Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski believe Kelce should never have been a third-rounder in the first place. In the former Patriots stars’ eyes, it wasn’t Kelce’s skills that held him back.
That said, back when he was with the Cincinnati Bearcats, Travis was a shadow of his current self. Not only was the younger Kelce a party animal, but he was also an aspiring quarterback. But what cost him most was his failed drug test in 2010.
Kelce had tested positive for cannabis during his early Bearcats days, leading him to be on the university’s suspended list. Luckily for him, his elder brother, Jason Kelce, intervened and convinced the coaches in Cincinnati. That led Travis to be reinstated. This was not without repercussions, though.
For starters, his return from suspension saw him at the bottom of the playmaker’s pecking order at his university. This forced him to switch to the TE position. That move, in hindsight, proved to be a blessing in disguise.
However, at the time, Kelce not only saw his reputation dented with the drug test failure, but he also switched to a completely new position relatively late. These factors led to Travis becoming a third-rounder in the Draft, felt Edelman.
“I think it’s because he went to Cincinnati, and what — he was a fifth-round draft pick? Or fourth-round draft? Third-round draft pick? He had troubles in college with the marijuana bulls**t, that’s why he dropped to the third, I think,” Edelman said on the Dudes on Dudes podcast.
The fact that he hit rock bottom, adapted to a new role, and still came out on top proved how Kelce was a different breed as an athlete. Gronkowski added: “A dog gets in trouble, a dog goes in his cage, and then it comes back out. That’s a dog. That’s a dog. He’s a dog.”
From nearly derailing his career in college to becoming one of the greatest tight ends of all time, Kelce’s journey is indeed remarkable. And if you ask Gronk and Edelman, it’s proof that sometimes, those who stumble the hardest are the ones who come back stronger.
