Why did the Dallas Cowboys pass on Travis Kelce in 2013 NFL Draft?

The Chiefs star tight end has been the source of headlines largely due to his association with a certain pop star of late, but this time around it’s very much grid iron-related, and what’s more is it involves perhaps the NFL’s most iconic team.

Travis Kelce could have been a Dallas Cowboys player

As the 63rd overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Travis Kelce wasn’t exactly the most coveted in that year’s class. To that end, one can understand why a number of teams would have passed on him. Truthfully, who could have known what Kelce would have become and what he would achieve? Yet, one can’t deny that there is some humor in the idea of how decisions are made about players in the draft. In the case of the former Cincinnati standout, it was down to concerns about his character following the NFL Scouting Combine of that year. Regarding the team that opted against selecting him, it was none other than the Dallas Cowboys. ”At the combine, I had some bad interviews,” Kelce said on his and his brother Jason’s “New Heights” podcast. “The Cowboys, they were kind of pressing me about having this red flag of missing a year.”

For the purpose of clarity, Kelce was suspended for the entirety of the Bearcats’ 2010 season after testing positive for marijuana, a violation of team rules. Following his return in 2011 he went on to have a prolific season in 2021, one that drew attention from many in the NFL. That said, it would appear - according to Kelce - that the Cowboys remained unconvinced, something that rubbed him the wrong way. “It ended really fast,” Kelce said of his combine meeting with Dallas. “I basically just said, ‘If you guys think I’m gonna be that kind of guy, or you’re questioning if I’m still that person after everything that I’ve battled through to get to where I am now from missing a season, then you guys (should) probably go somewhere else and pick somebody else.’ “And that’s exactly what they did.”

So, who did the Cowboys go with in the end? That would be tight end Gavin Escobar, who they selected with the 47th overall pick. Escobar would go on to catch 30 passes across four seasons with the Cowboys before finishing his career with the Ravens in 2017. As for Kelce, it’s safe to say that the 34-year-old has established himself as one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history. With two consecutive Super Bowl titles under his belt and the real possiblity of a third, one has to admit, the Cowboys missed out.