Chiefs’ new touchdown machine Noah Gray has ‘learned from Travis Kelce’ but manages life-threatening condition to live NFL dream

Noah Gray is emerging as a major weapon for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 25-year-old tight end has four touchdowns in the last two games – equalling his mark from the previous three years combined.

4

Gray has scored four touchdowns in his last six quartersCredit: Getty
Gray has been able to watch the master Travis Kelce at work every day, and has nabbed the game day scores from Taylor Swift’s boyfriend in recent weeks.

And it seems like a few things have rubbed off for the fifth-round draft pick, who many are tipping to take over from the future Hall of Famer one day.

“He does everything the right way and he’s learned a ton from [Travis Kelce] and so he knows how to kind of work within the rules of the offense and get himself open and he’s just a guy that’s going to be in the right spot,” said quarterback Patrick Mahomes after Gray’s double in a loss to the Buffalo Bills.

“As a quarterback, if you’re going to give him the football, he’s going to make the play happen.

“He’s not going to talk a lot. He’s going to come to work, do his job, but at the same time, those are the guys you want on your team [because] he’s going to do whatever it takes to win.”

Gray has battled to reach this point in his career and deserves the accolades heading his way.

As a freshman at Duke, the then 18-year-old began to lose weight, suffered with severe acne, and lost his vision before being hospitalised with a sky-high blood sugar level of 930.

“The doctors were like, ‘We don’t know how you didn’t walk in here in a coma,'” Gray told NFL.com ahead of last year’s Super Bowl.

“I think they said that because I was working out so much, it was helping out a little bit, but, you know, I’m drinking Gatorade and all these sugary drinks because I’m so dehydrated that it was throwing me through the roof. And eventually, my body was just like eating itself.”

Gray was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and learned how to live with the condition, constantly monitoring his blood sugar and using insulin injections.

4

Mahomes has been delighted with Gray’s impactCredit: Getty

4

Kelce celebrates as his heir-apparent races in for a scoreCredit: Getty
But he refused to give up on his NFL dream – and incredibly managed to turn it into a positive.

“It’s helped me mature. When I was a freshman, I was eating pizza every night,” he said.

“I was eating terribly like I did my whole life because that is just naturally how I ate, but then when I got (Type 1), I realized I feel so much better when I’m eating cleaner foods.

“So, I think it helped me mature in my eating habits. What I’m putting in my body as an athlete, I think that helped me out a lot.”

Heading into Friday’s Week 13 game with the Las Vegas Raiders, Gray is one catch away from matching his career-high 18 receptions from last season and already has the most yards he has managed in a campaign after passing 300.

Tight end is a notoriously tricky position to master early in your career, but Kelce saw potential in his teammate from the off.

Back-to-back multi-TD games for Noah Gray 🔥🔥@Chiefs are cookin' pic.twitter.com/bces2Jvska

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 24, 2024\n\n\n”,”width”:550,”height”:550,”provider”:”twitter”,”attribs”:{“data-tweetid”:”1860765184790339807″}}” data-provider=”twitter” data-widget-name=”embed” data-widget-id=”embed-5e300a68″>

“Oh yeah, he’s going to help us this year, man,” Kelce told reporters of Gray as a rookie.

“I can’t wait until the world sees what that guy can do, man. He’s doing an unbelievable job of learning this offense.”

Kelce, who only has two touchdowns this season, will be the main man until he retires, but the 35-year-old may be nearing the end of his time and Gray is proving the all-time great’s first impression right.

Since joining the NFL, he has used a Dexcom device and insulin pump to help him manage the condition.

Gray is not allowed to wear the pump during games, but gets an alert if his levels stray outside acceptable limits.

Black Friday’s clash against AFC West rival Raiders is a 3pm ET kickoff, which for Gray will mean a change to his strict pregame routine.

“I try to keep the meals I eat at the exact time before games and eat pretty much the same meal,” he said.

“Like I’ll eat steak and rice before games usually. Or if it’s a really early game, I’m just eating breakfast food, so I love fruit, and I’ll eat eggs. And I love toast, too, so I’ll have a slice or two of toast.

“But I try to keep it exactly the same every game just because it makes it more predictable.”

There is no cure for diabetes and Gray takes managing it extremely seriously.

“I think that’s one thing that I can’t stress enough: You have to put in as much time managing it as you do in your job,” he told NFL.com.

“It’s very much life or death. Me being able to play football at a high level is really dependent on me making sure that my body feels good blood sugar-wise to go out there. Working hard at managing it and taking that seriously is very, very important.”

4

Kelce has not been at his dominant best this seasonCredit: Alamy
Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews ialso has Type 1 diabetes, as do Miami Dolphins long snapper Blake Ferguson and Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Chad Muma.

All four athletes are role models for kids growing up with diabetes.

And Gray also tries to help the younger generation.

“I usually work with young kids who get diagnosed,” he said.

“I wasn’t a young kid when I was diagnosed with it, but as an 18-year-old, it was tough. I’m a grown dude, and it was hard on me. I can’t imagine what it’s like for a 5-year-old who gets diagnosed. They’re going to school and having to give themselves injections or check their blood sugar.

“It’s really important to me to try to help other people with (Type 1), especially the younger generations, because I see how hard it is on me. I can’t imagine how it is for them.”