Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is on the home stretch of his NFL career with the future Hall of Famer returning for a 13th season. But given that Kelce was seriously thinking about retirement this offseason, it is easy to suggest that the tight end will be hanging them up after 2025.

So, when should the Chiefs look at getting his replacement? This offseason or next? The draft in the upcoming few weeks is one place the Chiefs could get Kelce’s replacement in the door and learn from him for a full season before the takeover happens. For ESPN’s Adam Teicher, when assessing the Chiefs’ needs, tight end is one of them. “At tight end, Travis Kelce has one more season left in him, but it’s not too early for the Chiefs to think about an eventual replacement,” Teicher writes.

With Tyler Warren the undisputed No. 1 tight end in the draft, and is expected to be taken high, the other option is Colston Loveland, but again, he is expected to be taken high. Elijah Arroyo, Mason Taylor, and Terrance Ferguson are other, later-round options, but then we turn our attention to the 2026 free agency class.

Related: Chiefs Urged To Improve Roster ‘Competition’ In Draft Dallas Goedert, Mark Andrews, David Njoku, Noah Fant, and Kyle Pitts are the big names available, but they would all come with some serious contract expectations. So there are two ways the Chiefs could go, and the draft this season has some solid prospects, and the free agency class in 2026 has some serious players set to become available. The Chiefs need to find Kelce’s replacement, and they’ve got 12 months to do it.