Travis Kelce Says He Pleaded to Play For Browns, Cried in 2013 Pre-NFL Draft Meeting

Kansas City Chiefs superstar tight end Travis Kelce shared a story this week about an emotional pre-draft visit he had with the Cleveland Browns in 2013.

Speaking to Sean Manning of GQ, Kelce recalled meeting with then-Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski and making his case for why the organization should draft him:

"I cried in Chud's office and said, 'I will f--king die for this city!' I literally was in tears. I said, 'I'm sorry I'm getting emotional. I grew up down the street. I would f--king do anything to play for the Cleveland Browns.' He looked at me like I was insane. I don't think he'd ever had somebody just pour out their emotions."

Kelce was born in Westlake, Ohio, and attended high school in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, meaning the Browns were very much his hometown team.

After starring collegiately at Cincinnati, Kelce ended up going 63rd overall to the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft, and the rest is history.

Over his 12-year career in Kansas City, Kelce has established himself as one of the greatest tight ends of all time.

He is a 10-time Pro Bowler, four-time First Team All-Pro and three-time Super Bowl champion, and he is the Chiefs' all-time leader in receptions (1,004), receiving yardage (12,151) and receiving touchdowns (77).

The 35-year-old Kelce is all but guaranteed to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer once his playing career is over, and he is a big reason why the Chiefs continue to be Super Bowl contenders.

It is unclear how interested the Browns were in drafting Kelce in 2013, but their opportunities to do so were fairly limited.

They did have the No. 6 overall pick in that draft, and they used it on pass-rusher Barkevious Mingo, who had just seven sacks in three seasons with the Browns.

Cleveland did not have a second-round pick since the selection was used to take wide receiver Josh Gordon in the 2012 supplemental draft.

The Browns didn't pick again until No. 68 overall in the third round, and by that point Kelce had already come off the board.

Since 2013, the Browns have made the playoffs only twice, winning just a single postseason game.

During that same timeframe, the Chiefs have made 11 trips to the playoffs, won nine division titles, reached the Super Bowl five times and won the Super Bowl three times.

While it isn't necessarily fair to say the fortunes would have been flipped had the Browns taken Kelce instead of the Chiefs, the NFL landscape over the past decade-plus potentially could have looked far different had that happened.