On the "New Heights" podcast hosted by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his brother, Jason, the former gave his "Stamp of the Week" to a local Chicago product who stepped up significantly for the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
"I'm going [with] one of my favorite teammates of all time," Kelce said. "My brother, from Chi-Town, Frankfort, Illinois finest, Lincoln-Way East High School, Nick Allegretti. That's right. Nick Allegretti for the Kansas City Chiefs stepped in for our Pro Bowl offensive guard Joe Thuney for the AFC Championship.
"Huge shoes to fill and stepped up like a champion and propelled us and got us another AFC Championship and punched our ticket into the Super Bowl yet again."
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The Chiefs defeated the Baltimore Ravens on the road last Sunday, 17-10, to make their fourth Super Bowl in five seasons. They hope to win their third Super Bowl in that span with their upcoming game against the San Francisco 49ers, too.
Allegretti, as Kelce mentioned, stepped in for Thuney, who went down with a pectoral injury. He's considered a "long shot" to play in the Super Bowl after missing the AFC Championship game.
But Allegretti stepped up for the offense. Patrick Mahomes was sacked just twice during the game and the Chiefs' offense totaled 319 yards and 17 points against the league's best defense.
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"Nick has been year in, year out, Mr. Reliable," Kelce said. "Every single time he gets that opportunity to go in there. To play as good as he did and as big as he did in that moment, in that game, we couldn't have done it without you, brother.
After the game, Allegretti delivered an "emotional" quote, according to Kelce, graciously thanking his teammates for helping him during the week heading into the game.
"They were there for me all week with communication, making sure I was engrained in this offense. God, I'm so proud of this team," Allegretti said, according to Kelce.
"You said it for all of us, dude. We're all in the same boat with you, man," Kelce said. "The feeling is mutual to have you on the team with us brother. And damn, that was a fun one to go and get with you, man."
Allegretti, 27, is a Frankfort native and Lincoln-Way East High School alumni. He attended the University of Illinois. He entered the 2019 NFL draft, where he was taken in the seventh round with the No. 216 pick by the Chiefs. He's played in every single regular-season game over the past four seasons.
"Nick Allegretti, shoutout to all of our Lincoln-Way East family," Kelce said. "Dan Giordano and the Giordano family out there in Chi-Town. We got a lot of connections and Nick and his family have been absolutely awesome ever since he's been a Chief. We're lucky to have him, baby. Shoutout to Nick!"
