Travis Kelce wanted absolutely nothing to do with the Rams in 2013.
The ‘Tight End University’ co-founder was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round (63rd overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft to mark the start of his Hall of Fame-worthy career.
But Kelce’s NFL journey could have turned out very differently – or so he thought – ahead of that year’s draft.
The University of Cincinnati alum once recounted getting a call from the Missouri area code on the eve of the 2013 draft.
Kelce automatically assumed it was the success-starved St. Louis Rams – who moved to Los Angeles in 2016 – calling about potentially selecting him.
“In my head I’m like, ‘Saint Louis?’” a visibly pained Kelce recalled.
“Come on, I don’t even want to answer this.”
Fortunately for Kelce, it turned out to be a call from the other Missouri-based team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Specifically, it was a personal call from head coach Andy Reid about the prospect of Kelce joining his team.
“The next time I talked to [Reid] was actually on draft day,” Kelce told FS1’s Colin Cowherd in 2017.
“I answered the call, and I’m originally thinking it’s a Missouri number and so I’m thinking it’s St. Louis.
And I’m thinking ‘oh crap, I’m going to freaking, I’m going to the Rams? Come on!’
“So I answer and it’s like ‘hey, it’s Andy Reid. And I’m like, ‘aw man, life just got better!”
Jason Kelce famously had a hand in persuading ‘Big Red’ to call his younger brother and draft him.
The rest is pretty much history.
Kelce has won three Super Bowls in Kansas City and cemented himself as one of the greatest tight ends ever.
The ten-time Pro Bowler has a ton of records and accolades on his resume and his partnership with quarterback Patrick Mahomes is one of the most formidable in NFL history.
He’s also a global celebrity through his highly-publicized relationship with Taylor Swift and happens to co-host one of the most popular and valuable sports podcasts in the world.
It’s impossible to know if all this would have come to fruition if the Rams had drafted him.
The struggling franchise had been down on their luck for years and were starved of playoff football after the wildly successful ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ days at the turn of the century.
But by 2016 they were the new-look LA Rams, who would soon appear in two Super Bowls, winning one, led by Pro-Bowl talent Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, and Matthew Stafford.
Kelce could easily have been part of that all-star cast if things had turned out differently.
Maybe he’d have even more Super Bowl rings than he does now.
But unlike the Rams Kelce’s future lay in Missouri, alongside Mahomes, where the pair continue to build one of the all-time great NFL dynasties.
The Rams’ loss was ultimately the Chiefs’ gain and all it took was a call from Reid.
The first round for the 2025 NFL Draft is Thursday in Green Bay.
