Travis Kelce had to wait until 62 other players were selected before his name was ultimately called during the 2013 NFL Draft. Based on all the success he’s had with the Chiefs, it’s safe to say that Kelce has made the teams who considered but didn’t draft him regret their decision.
One of those teams was apparently the Dallas Cowboys, who according to Kelce did not draft him due to character concerns stemming from his time at the University of Cincinnati.
“At the combine, I had some bad interviews,” Kelce said on his and his brother Jason’s “New Heights” podcast. “The Cowboys, they were kind of pressing me about having this red flag of missing a year.”
Kelce was suspended for the Bearcats’ 2010 season after testing positive for marijuana, which was a violation of team rules. He returned to the team in 2011 before having a big 2012 season that put him on NFL radars.
Despite the turnaround, the Cowboys were apparently skeptical, which Kelce didn’t appreciate.
“It ended really fast,” Kelce said of his combine meeting with Dallas. “I basically just said, ‘If you guys think I’m gonna be that kind of guy, or you’re questioning if I’m still that person after everything that I’ve battled through to get to where I am now from missing a season, then you guys (should) probably go somewhere else and pick somebody else.’
“And that’s exactly what they did.”
The Cowboys ultimately drafted tight end Gavin Escobar with the 47th overall pick. Escobar caught 30 passes in four seasons with the Cowboys before finishing his career with the Ravens in 2017.
Kelce has enjoyed one of the greatest careers by a tight end in NFL history, a career that rivals Cowboys legend Jason Witten. A nine-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro, Kelce has been one of the cornerstones of the Chiefs‘ current dynasty. This past postseason, Kelce won his third ring while passing Jerry Rice with the most postseason catches in history.
