Chiefs sign a possible Travis Kelce tight end heir as undrafted free agent

Billy Heyen

Chiefs sign a possible Travis Kelce tight end heir as undrafted free agent image

The Kansas City Chiefs have a way of always finding a sneaky addition or two.

They found one in undrafted free agency. Soon after the 2025 NFL Draft ended on Saturday, K.C. picked up Jake Briningstool, a tight end out of Clemson.

Briningstool, if he pans out, could help to one day replace Travis Kelce.

He's a 6-foot-6 target who is Clemson's all-time leader in receptions by a tight end,w ith 127.

In 2024, Briningstool had 49 grabs for 530 yards and seven TDs.

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At the NFL Combine, Briningstool ran a 4.75-second 40-yard dash, which was top-10 among tight ends.

The Chiefs are set at their top-two tight end spots heading into 2025 with Kelce and Noah Gray.

That third spot is up for grabs, though, and Briningstool has a chance to win that job.

He's a strong enough pass catcher that the Chiefs could truly view him as an oversized weapon down the road.

If they're thinking like that, he should make the gameday roster. He'll have to get better as a blocker, but you can't teach Briningstool's size and ball skills.

Kansas City definitely found a sleeper in Briningstool.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle