The Kansas City Chiefs were down two of their top tight ends to conclude their second group of OTAs.
Travis Kelce is still recovering but making progress from offseason ankle surgery, and Deon Yelder didn’t practice with an unknown injury. These injuries have allowed some new players to get in and get repetitions with the starting unit. It’s also brought to light an unusual revelation about the Chiefs’ tight ends room: There are many former quarterbacks playing that position in Kansas City.
One of those players that has stood out is former Princeton quarterback John Lovett. Chiefs tight ends coach Tom Melvin had a chance to speak on Lovett and the other QB-TE converts in the Chiefs locker room following OTAs.
“John is an interesting kid,” Melvin said. “No. 1, having come from a quarterback, having played some tight end, fullback in college, he’s got a nice perspective on it. Smart kid. He’s the third quarterback that we have in there because (Travis) Kelce played in college; Blake Bell, same thing. They have a different perspective on how they look at things. It’s been good for the room as they talk about some things going on.”
Kelce, Bell and Lovett use that experience as a QB to their advantage when playing the tight end position. It helps them because they can draw on what they liked when they were slinging the football.
Lovett is a player who is learning new positions, but he does have the luxury of having previously played a few of those positions. Now that he has a chance to get some repetitions with the Chiefs’ starters, he’s not wasting that opportunity.
“He’s a smart kid,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said. “One thing he understands is he’s not going to take any rep or any opportunity for granted. He’s done a heck of a job. He’s learning to play the tight end position as well as a fullback. At the end of the day, we just want smart, tough, competitive football players. He seems to fit the role right now.”
Lovett had a nice diving reception across the middle of the field during Thursday’s practice, according to Chiefs reporter BJ Kissel. Kissel claimed that it was perhaps the best play of the day, with the pass coming from second-year QB Chase Litton. Lovett is not the only former QB-TE convert who took advantage in practice, though. Bell, aormer Oklahoma dual-threat QB, caught a tight-window throw from Patrick Mahomes with Tyrann Mathieu in coverage.
These repetitions will only help guys like Bell and Lovett get better and move them toward their goal of making the 53-man roster. That also could present a difficult decision for general manager Brett Veach come September.
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