KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Offensive line coach Andy Heck puts together the Chiefs’ run-blocking scheme for each game alongside coach Andy Reid and coordinator Matt Nagy. An NFL left tackle for 12 seasons, Heck shared Friday what he loves most when watching film of the Chiefs succeeding with running plays.
The first category is the creative run plays in the Chiefs’ playbook. The Chiefs scored their first touchdown of this season using such a play, a play-action end-around to get the ball to speedy rookie receiver Xavier Worthy behind the line of scrimmage against the Baltimore Ravens.
Worthy, who ran the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in a record-setting 4.21 seconds, saw a perfect wall of teammates — receiver Rashee Rice, tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray, center Creed Humphrey and rookie left tackle Kingsley Suamataia — ready to block in front of him. Showcasing his blazing speed, Worthy sprinted past multiple defenders before reaching the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown on his first touch in an NFL game.
“Those are a lot of fun, getting our fast guys in space,” Heck said. “Those are highlights. My favorite ones are ones that are barely going to be noticed, where it’s 4 yards and a cloud of dust and I freaking loved it.”
Rookie fullback Carson Steele had such a snap in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals, when he jumped over several players on a second-and-1 snap to gain 9 yards.
A major reason Steele was successful on the play was because of who set the edge at the line of scrimmage — Kelce, the 12th-year veteran who is a future Hall of Famer because of his elite receiving production. Kelce effectively blocked defensive end Joseph Ossai, never letting the defender touch Steele.
In fact, Heck acknowledged that Worthy’s rushing touchdown against the Ravens was the byproduct of Kelce, the underrated hero of the highlight. When the play began, Kelce blocked outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who fell to his knees and was unable to touch Worthy as he sprinted past him. For good measure, Kelce knocked inside linebacker Roquan Smith to the turf as Worthy entered the end zone.
X GON’ GIVE IT TO YA‼️ pic.twitter.com/SPBbzNpJu6
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 6, 2024
“He gives us great effort and he’s one of our most effective blockers,” Heck said of Kelce. “He’s such an important piece of our passing game that we don’t want to wear him out with that. But when we ask him to do those jobs, he does a great job.”
Pro Football Focus agrees with Heck as Kelce has earned a higher run-blocking grade (56.6) than Gray (54.4), the Chiefs tight end who is known as much for his blocking as his receiving.
Five of the Chiefs’ 10 rushing touchdowns this season have featured a block from Kelce.
“The narrative has always kind of been that I haven’t given (my best blocking),” Kelce said. “I don’t like to play into what everybody else is saying. I’ve always been my own worst critic. I’ve always tried to up the ante in every aspect of my game.”
Heck shared that neither he, Reid, nor Nagy made it an offseason emphasis for Kelce to improve his run blocking.
“He just wants to win and make sure that we’re doing well offensively,” Reid said of Kelce. “He’s not selfish. He just wants to be in there and playing. As a result — if you take the offensive linemen out of the picture — he’s always one of the top play-per-game guys. He busts his tail during the week, and part of that is the run game. He makes sure that he stays on top of that.”
Kelce’s life changed last season when he began dating pop superstar Taylor Swift. As he followed Swift’s Eras Tour around the world this summer, Kelce brought a team of trainers — Alex Skacel, Andrew Spruill and Laurence Justin Ng — with him. European tours and acting gigs aside, Kelce didn’t miss a single Chiefs workout in the offseason, mandatory or voluntary.
After each practice in training camp, Kelce spent an extra few minutes working on his blocking techniques against a blocking sled.
“Kelce is great at blocking, man,” Gray said. “He’s always been great at blocking. He’s the dude I learned how to block from. He’s always been a leader in that regard, so he’s always taking pride in it.”
Travis Kelce and Hollywood Brown getting some side work in before calling it a day on the third practice pic.twitter.com/k3J3G4mnHk
— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) July 23, 2024
Although it might not be TB12, the training regimen of seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, many in the Chiefs organization know that Kelce is obsessed with body maintenance.
“I’d be silly to say I was flying around out there like I was in my younger years, for sure,” Kelce said. “I feel like I’m still helping my team win, and that’s all that really matters to me. In terms of my agility and all that, I’m running faster mentally. So I feel like that makes up for it.”
Even with his blocking success, Kelce still leads the Chiefs in receptions (38), targets (48) and receiving yards (335).
He scored his first touchdown of the season last week in the Chiefs’ victory against the Las Vegas Raiders. The game featured a vintage performance from Kelce, who recorded a game-high 10 receptions on 12 targets for 90 yards to help the Chiefs stay undefeated.
In Week 7, after the Chiefs’ bye week, Kelce’s biggest blocking assignment of the season came against the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers have surrendered just 105.8 rushing yards per game this season, the sixth fewest in the league. In their win over the 49ers, the Chiefs gained 184 rushing yards.
“He’s got to make those big blocks, and I know he’s going to make the play when the ball is thrown to him,” running back Kareem Hunt said of Kelce after that game. “He’s been doing a good job of finishing. I appreciate that from him.”
Kareem Hunt finds the end zone!
📺: #KCvsSF on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/7jpgDLmioQ— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
Hunt finished the game with a game-high 78 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Hunt’s first touchdown was a 1-yard run as Kelce moved across the line of scrimmage to block linebacker Fred Warner at the goal line. Later, Kelce blocked cornerback Charvarius Ward and rookie safety Malik Mustapha on Hunt’s 6-yard touchdown run.
“We were rolling,” Kelce said. “I think the plays Coach Reid was dialing up just really gave us some energy to get after the guys in a certain way. It’s the best challenge in the league. I love going up against the best and Fred is definitely one of those guys.”
One of the best parts of that victory, Nagy said, was how well the Chiefs offense did against the 49ers despite not having to rely on Kelce as the unit’s top target. The Chiefs still scored a season-high 28 points without quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ top three wide receivers — Rice (right knee), veteran newcomer Marquise Brown (left shoulder) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (right hamstring).
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While Kelce was blocking, finishing with just four receptions on five targets for 17 yards, Gray led the Chiefs with four receptions on four targets for 66 yards.
“It’s refreshing,” Nagy said. “Pat and Kelce have been here a long time, and other guys see that. In the locker room, everybody is celebrating the same way. They’re not pouting because, ‘We won and I had one catch for 12 yards.’ We don’t have that on this team. As a coach, I can’t tell you how refreshing that is.
“It starts with those guys. They understand what’s most important. They want the rings and trophies because that’s how people remember you.”
(Photo of Kareem Hunt, left, and Travis Kelce: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
