Tight end Noah Gray was the Chiefs’ most improved player in 2024.
Kansas City selected Gray in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He has progressed each season, and really stepped up last year with 40 catches for 437 yards and five touchdowns, while also also playing 178 snaps on special teams.
Of course, Gray has spent his career in the shadow of future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce. Believe it or not, Gray’s 74.2 grade from Pro Football Focus was higher than Kelce’s 70.9 score. While listing his most underappreciated players from every roster, NFL.com analyst Tom Blair recognized Gray for the Chiefs.
“Gray’s got two things propping up his underappreciated bonafides: 1) He’s just one of the many pass-catchers to cycle into Patrick Mahomes’ sights over the years; and 2) He’s a non-Travis Kelce tight end in K.C., toiling in relative anonymity at the same position on the same team as one of the most famous people in the country. It would be silly on multiple counts to suggest Gray will be the “next Kelce,” as if anyone could just jump onto that Hall of Fame trajectory. But it would make sense for Gray’s role in the offense to keep expanding, with the 35-year-old Kelce’s yards-per-catch mark (8.5) plunging in 2024, while Gray reached new highs in usage (49 targets) and production (437 receiving yards, five receiving TDs). Mahomes has thrown 1,175 passes to tight ends since he became the Chiefs’ starter in 2018, 347 more than any other NFL QB in that span. Obviously, much of those went to Kelce. And while we don’t know what life will look like for Mahomes and Co. after Kelce moves on, it seems safe to say that Gray — who signed a three-year extension in 2024 — will figure heavily into the picture.”
Gray will once again be an under-the-radar option for K.C. in 2025. With weapons such as Kelce, Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, and Xavier Worthy for defenses to worry about, Gray could get a lot of open looks. The Chiefs gave Gray a three-year, $18 million contract extension with $10.1 guaranteed in Week 1 of last season.
