One day after trading Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to the New York Jets for Dan Brown, the Kansas City Chiefs are adding another tight end.
According to Pete Sweeney of Arrowhead Pride, the Chiefs have signed tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart to the practice squad on November 3 after losing linebacker Christian Rozeboom to the Los Angeles Rams.
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Getting to Know Griffin-Stewart
After the season-ending injury to Jody Fortson, it appears GM Brett Veach is looking to supplement this group in any way he can. Insert the former Rutgers and Pittsburgh UDFA who first entered the league in 2020.
The big-bodied blocker weighs in at 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, spending time with the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and New York Giants before joining Kansas City.
Sam Ekstrom of Zone Coverage described him as a potential “under-the-radar pick-up” during his rookie camp, as a blocking tight end that “could fit that blue-collar role” in the offense. Beyond that, Griffin-Stewart has shown flashes as a pass-catcher but his overall college production was lacking with 32 receptions for 282 yards and two touchdowns in 22 games.
Here’s a one-handed grab he made with Rutgers, which showed off some of his untapped potential in this regard.
Watching his tape, the bruiser generally lined up as an in-line blocker in college that can leak out as a receiver, although he has experience out in space too and has shown versatility in the different looks he’s seen. In college, Griffin-Stewart spent time under five different offensive coordinators and he’s already bounced around the NFL joining his fourth franchise in two years.
We’ll see if Andy Reid can unlock the tall red zone threat as he has done with players like Fortson and Demetrius Harris in the past.
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Current Chiefs Tight End Room
Veach and Reid have been looking for someone to step up behind Travis Kelce. That person had been Fortson in 2021 but as we know, the role is now vacant.
The aforementioned Brown, Blake Bell and rookie Noah Gray remain on the active roster along with the Chiefs superstar while Griffin-Stewart joins Mark Vital on the practice squad.
According to Pro Football Focus, Bell has logged the second-most offensive snaps after Kelce with 127, grading out as a 66.0 overall and a 69.8 as a run-blocker (73.1 pass-block). Gray has earned solid blocking marks in his own right, with a 74.0 run-block grade and an 85.1 in pass protection off 106 total snaps. Both have struggled to make an impact as pass-catchers, however.
That’s where Brown and Griffin-Stewart come in. Even if their numbers aren’t spectacular as receivers, both have the size or athleticism to play out in space and make that play-action grab.
Reid has always employed a red zone target tight end throughout his tenure with the Chiefs and that’s what he’s looking for now.
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