{"id":60915,"date":"2025-06-11T09:24:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T09:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=60915"},"modified":"2025-06-11T09:24:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T09:24:25","slug":"chiefs-udfa-to-watch-at-minicamp-has-already-been-turning-heads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=60915","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs&#8217; &#8216;UDFA to Watch at Minicamp&#8217; Has Already Been Turning Heads"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Jake-Briningstool2-e1749613639625.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Jake-Briningstool2-e1749613639625.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Jake-Briningstool2-e1749613639625.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Jake-Briningstool2-e1749613639625.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Chiefs' 'UDFA to Watch at Minicamp' Has Already Been Turning Heads\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Kansas City Chiefs rookie tight end Jake Briningstool was highlighted as KC&#8217;s &#8220;UDFA to watch&#8221; at mandatory minicamp.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Kansas City Chiefs have a knack for finding and developing tight ends under head coach Andy Reid and positional coach Tom Melvin, and potential UDFA gem Jake Briningstool is the latest TE prospect who has been gaining attention ahead of mandatory minicamp.<\/p>\n<p>The undrafted rookie out of Clemson, Briningstool, has already earned the \u201cstandout\u201d label at Chiefs OTAs. And Pro Football Network just named him Kansas City\u2019s top \u201cUDFA to watch\u201d at minicamp next week, within a document shared with Heavy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTravis Kelce isn\u2019t retiring yet. But that doesn\u2019t mean the Kansas City Chiefs should ignore the tight end position,\u201d the team of Pro Football Network analysts began. \u201cKelce turns 36 next season, and he\u2019s coming off one of the worst statistical seasons of his career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, they noted that \u201cPatrick Mahomes loves targeting his tight ends,\u201d adding that \u201cone UDFA in particular could challenge Jared Wiley for reps behind Kelce and Noah Gray.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That player is Briningstool, according to PFN.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Pro Football Network Explains Why Jake Briningstool Could Become Next Chiefs UDFA Success Story in 2025<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cJake Briningstool may not fit the mold of a prototypical in-line tight end, but his toughness, savvy route-running, and dependable hands give him clear value as a receiving threat,\u201d Pro Football Network wrote, making the case for Briningstool as a possible 53-man roster dark horse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe isn\u2019t going to overpower defenders or create major separation in man coverage,\u201d the site continued, \u201cbut his ability to find soft spots in zone and make difficult catches makes him a dependable target.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sound familiar? Briningstool appears to be cut from a similar cloth as Kelce, and that\u2019s good news for Kansas City if the rookie can pick up a thing or two from the future Hall of Famer before he calls it a career.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBriningstool (6\u20196\u201d, 240 pounds) moves smoothly for his size and shows impressive body control and concentration, particularly in traffic,\u201d PFN went on complimenting the youngster. \u201cHe thrives in the intermediate passing game, where his understanding of leverage and spacing helps him stay involved and productive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The NFL site concluded that \u201cwhile he still has room to grow as a blocker, the Clemson product brings enough receiving upside to earn looks on third downs and in the red zone.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Jared Wiley\u2019s Injury Recovery Could Open the Door for Jake Briningstool at Chiefs Minicamp &amp; Training Camp<\/h2>\n<p>Wiley has not been taking part in practices as he recovers from knee surgery, and there\u2019s no guarantee the 2024 fourth-rounder starts the season on the active roster.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know he signed as a UDFA and has an uphill battle to make the roster, but TE Jake Briningstool is pretty intriguing to me,\u201d KC superfan and podcaster \u2018how bout those CHIEFS\u2019 voiced ahead of OTAs. \u201cWiley may not be ready to start the season with that ACL repair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As of June 11, HBTC has been more right than wrong, as Briningstool has been shining and Wiley has been sidelined.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUDFA TE Jake Briningstool had another strong contested catch during team drills,\u201d KC Star reporter Jesse Newell relayed on June 4. \u201cHe excelled on those during rookie minicamp a few weeks back. Will be one to watch once training camp starts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In response to a mailbag question, A-to-Z Sports Kansas City reporter Charles Goldman also told a fan: \u201cIf Wiley starts on the PUP, I could see either Briningstool or [Robert] Tonyan making it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tonyan has had a decent start at OTAs, similar to Briningstool, but the 31-year-old journeyman would be extremely easy to stash on the practice squad.<\/p>\n<p>For starters, as a vested veteran, Tonyan wouldn\u2019t be subject to waivers after the 53-man cutdown. Meaning, assuming he wanted to remain with the Chiefs after being cut, nothing would stop him from doing so.<\/p>\n<p>Briningstool, on the other hand, would be much more of a candidate to be poached by another team. Making him the more likely of the two to make it if all things are equal on the field.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Obermuller covers the NFL for Heavy Sports, where he began writing in 2021. His areas of focus include the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers, with expert knowledge on each based on years of coverage. Michael is an NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate. More about Michael Obermuller<\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Chiefs<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a strong OTAs, Kansas City Chiefs rookie tight end Jake Briningstool was highlighted as KC&#8217;s &#8220;UDFA to watch&#8221; at mandatory minicamp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":60916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chiefs&#039; &#039;UDFA to Watch at Minicamp&#039; Has Already Been Turning Heads - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=60915\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chiefs&#039; 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