Travis Kelce's Former Mentor Jason Avant Gives Candid Opinion of Tight End's Growth
Jason Avant, Travis Kelce
As Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs prepare for another Super Bowl, the tight end's former mentor Jason Avant—who played as a wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers and Chiefs before retiring—opened up about Kelce's personal growth, both on and off the field.
While speaking with Action News, via the Daily Star, Avant called Kelce a "perfectionist," noting that he was asked to "help Kelce develop into a professional" by coach Andy Reid "because he had a lot of immaturities coming out of college. He had a lot of issues and it was my job to help."
"Travis Kelce was getting suspended and kicked off the team for immature things, weed and other stuff like that. Just being young, basically," Avant said, describing the sort of difficulties Kelce faced early on, before clarifying, "He stopped after joining the Chiefs."
Avant also had a lot of praise for Kelce and the player he has become since then, saying, "He's a professional...Travis became a pro and realized he had to take this seriously, and he's been doing that ever since."
Another interesting tidbit from Avant was a story about Kelce's older brother, Jason, who Avant also played with during his earlier years. He shared that when Jason knew that Reid drafted Kelce, he approached the coach and told him, "If you draft him, he won't be a problem for you"—and it seems like Kelce has delivered on his brother's promise.
Avant joined many other notable sports figures in sharing his opinion on Kelce, with others like J.J. Watt, Shannon Sharpe, Stephen A. Smith, and Pat McAfee giving their two cents on the situation recently, especially in regard to his romance with Taylor Swift.
Since joining the Chiefs, Kelce and his team have won the Super Bowl twice already, with this year being their chance to win for a third time. The big game is on Sunday, Feb. 11, and the Chiefs will battle for the title against the San Francisco 49ers.
Next: New Footage From VIP Suite Shows Taylor Swift Celebrating Chiefs AFC Win With Entire Kelce Family
