NFL’s Jody Fortson Explains Why Travis Kelce Is His ‘Favorite Teammate of All Time’

NFL player Jody Fortson had some sweet words this week for his former Kansas City Chiefs teammate Travis Kelce, calling the fellow tight end his “favorite teammate of all time.”

Fortson, who recently signed with the Miami Dolphins, clarified his feelings about Kelce while speaking with reporters to say that the “favorite teammate” status covered all levels of football that Fortson has played.

“On any level—Pop Warner, high school, college—Travis Kelce’s my favorite teammate,” Fortson said. “Not only because he took his time trying to teach me the role of being a tight end, but just because of the great person he is.”

Kelce’s older brother, Jason, reposted a video clip of Fortson’s comments on X on Sat., March 16.

Fortson, 28, played with the Chiefs during the 2021 and 2022 NFL seasons but was forced to focus on injury recovery for most of the 2023 season. His NFL career started in 2019 as a free agent with the Chiefs after he played college football at Valdosta State University in Georgia.

Related: Travis Kelce Reflects on What Gives Him ‘Reason’ to Play Harder

Though Fortson started as a wide receiver, he shifted to the tight end position during his time with the Chiefs, learning from Kelce along the way. While speaking with reporters this week, the new Dolphins tight end explained that Kelce taught him strategy and patience while showing “unconditional love and knowledge for the game.”

Spending time learning from Kelce “definitely set me forward, lightyears of where I would’ve been had I not had him,” Fortson said, adding that the last few years have “been an extraordinary blessing to my game.”

“There’s a lot of different nuances of the game that I learned from Kelce and my time being in Kansas City that I’m forever grateful for,” he said.

After three Super Bowl wins, many NFL fans consider Kelce, 34, to be one of the greatest tight ends of all time. The Chiefs secured their most recent Super Bowl victory on Feb. 11 when the team took on the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The win served as the Chiefs’ second consecutive Super Bowl victory and marked the first time a team won in back-to-back years since the New England Patriots pulled off the same feat in 2005.