The Kansas City Chiefs sit nicely atop the AFC West with a 9-1 record and will be looking to avenge their loss to the Buffalo Bills when they take on the Carolina Panthers in Week 12.

With a host of weapons on offense, with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, DeAndre Hopkins, Xavier Worthy, Kareem Hunt, Juju Smith-Schuster, and Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City has the firepower to scare teams, even though they haven’t been clicking through the first 10 weeks.

But part of what has made the Chiefs so tough to beat this year is it isn’t the big-name players who have stepped up, its been role players like tight end Noah Gray, who when their chances come, they take advantage of them.

And don’t think Mahomes hasn’t noticed.

“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,” Mahomes said via ESPN. “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.”

While Gray’s numbers don’t jump off the page, for the tight end, it is more about game situations when looking at his numbers.

Against the Bills, Gray didn’t have a “big” day, but he hauled in two vital touchdown grabs to go with his 23 yards from four receptions.

Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy calls him Mr. Consistent, and perhaps it is players like Gray who are the bedrock of what the Chiefs are in 2024, with players having an unrivaled will to do what is needed for the team.

While not the most flashy offense we’ve become accustomed to, it has everyone step up when their chance comes, and Gray certainly did that against Buffalo.