Chiefs Rookie Review: TE Noah Gray

Most of us wish we could live forever. The reality is, reality doesn’t work that way. We all have a shelf life, and so does every player in the NFL, even Tom Bra… oh, you know who. The same holds true for what the Chiefs offense is able to present, just as it was true for the Greatest Show on Turf, it all has to come to an end at some point. Not to be a downer here, but, because of Father Time, we all evolve… eventually.

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The point? I know, you’re happy that I’m finally getting to the point.

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Travis Kelce is now 31 years old, soon to be 32 in October, and is an old man –> in Football Dawg years. However, there are things the Chiefs can do — and are doing — to elongate an outstanding career such as Kelce’s. That’s exactly what GM Brett Veach and HC Andy Reid had in mind when they moved up to the 18th pick in the 5th round in the 2021 draft to take TE Noah Gray at #162 overall. That trade looked like this:

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The Jets received: K.C.’s 5th and 6th-round picks (175th and 207th overall) and,

The Chiefs received: N.Y.’s 5th and 6th-round picks (162nd and 226th overall).

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Here’s what GM Brett Veach had to say about the trade up for Noah Gray after welcoming Joshua Kaindoh to the Kingdon on the phone:

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Not a bad value for a prospect who was rated as a 3rd round talent by ProFootballNetwork. However, you may be wondering… why? Why on earth would K.C. trade up to take a tight end, in a draft that was rated low for tight end talent? The answer is, the skillset of Noah Gray. Plus, what he can do, may end up lengthening the career of Mr. Kelce.

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Also, whenever Kelce is winded and has to come off the field for a few plays, it has made defending the Chiefs offense a much easier task, but with the ability to insert Gray, while Kelce’s on the sidelines, his pass catching ability will keep the defense honest.

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Gray is a hands-catcher and rarely allows the ball to get into his body, you’ll notice that below. Much of what Gray does on film reminds of Kelce, take a look:

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• Play 1: Reminiscent of Mahomes rolling out then throwing up over the top to Kelce. Replay on slow-mo and you can see that Gray does a good job of going up to get this one.
• Play 2: Gray runs down the seam in the middle of the field, something we’ve seen Kelce do a thousand time.
• Play 3: Gray runs a good crossing route behind the LB and makes a good catch on a hot pass.
• Play 4: Gray runs a slant over the middle.
• Play 5: In the Red Zone, Gray runs another slant, makes a good catch, fights off defenders and scoots into the end zone. Shows his lower body strength on this one which can be seen clearly on the replay.
• Play 6: Turns and faces his QB over the middle like he’s putting up his catcher’s mitt. Good route and execution.
• Play 7: In the Red Zone again, he puts on a solid fake – highlighted in the slow-mo, to sell the idea he’s going over the middle like he’s done so many time before, then breaks it off to the post for a TD catch.
• Last Play: Gray is the up blocker on this fake punt, then becomes the passer which turns into a first down. Nice trick play and I’m sure Andy Reid took notes. Could see this one on game day.

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Gray played WR, then QB, then WR again in high school so there’s a good chance we see him take a snap as a Wildcat QB, or at least a trick play passer (just hope he’s better than Kelce), at some point. The Chiefs apparently want to use Gray as a TE, WR, H-back hybrid tool. Here’s what Brett Veach said about Gray’s skillset when the Chiefs drafted Noah Gray:

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Joe Marino at The Draft Network says of Gray:

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What stands out when watching Gray is how detailed he is as a route-runner and how natural his hands are catching the football. Duke primarily played him in the slot and out of the backfield, where he illustrated versatility in terms of where he can line up. At the next level, Gray needs to add a notable amount of functional strength and bulk if he is going to survive playing in line.

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While some may be down on Noah Gray, the reason you’ll mostly hear has to do with him being smallish for a TE and that means he doesn’t have the blocking upside that Kelce has. The flaw in that perspective is that when Gray is in the game, he’ll most likely be replacing a smaller player, like a wide receiver, so the blocking he does provide will be better than what those players can offer. While blocking a LB or DE may be a challenge for him, getting out in space against a DB should be no problem, which is what the Chiefs ask of their WRs.

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I remember being surprised at how “fast” Travis Kelce looked when he first came out of Cincinnati. He ran a 4.61 – 40 yard dash and usually outran DBs to the goal line. Noah Gray runs a 4.55 – 40 and we’ve all seen Andy Reid make good use of players with speed, and I see no reason why he won’t be able to take advantage of Gray’s speedier upside.

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I’m actually tickled pink about the Chiefs picking up Noah Gray. I’ve come to trust the Veach team of scouts who sync up the skills of the prospects they provide for consideration with what Andy Reid is going to be asking them to do, and they do it with great acumen. This progressively improving and “jelling” — as David Bell likes to call it — of Veach’s scouts with the requirements that both Steve Spagnuolo and Andy Reid are requesting from their drafted players, is reaching the zenith of NFL productivity. It’s hard to argue with K.C. hosting 3 straight AFC Championships and participating in two straight Super Bowls. Plus, it surely looks like the next Super Bowl representative from the AFC will have to go through Kansas City, so yes, the scouting department is doing a bang up job! Number one in my book. And… Noah Gray is one of those prospects they’ve identified, who will play a role in bringing another championship to K.C..

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Nate Tice from The Athletic recently appeared with Ryan Tracy on RGR Football and here’s what he had to say about the selection of Noah Gray by K.C.:

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Andy Reid deserves so much praise for the success of these Chiefs and Nate Tice does a good job of spelling out why. Will Noah Gray be a success in Andy Reid’s offense? I’d be shocked if he wasn’t.

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What do you think of the Noah Gray pick?

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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