Travis

Kelce

Not the line you wanted, but certainly the line you’re used to. Since Week 12, Kelce has gone over eight targets just once and hasn’t done better than 68 yards in a game or scored. Kelce has become a low-end TE1. Noah Gray (1/10 on one target) gets tagged on to this post because he somehow managed to not score a touchdown. Neither player is an exciting start in Week 17 against the Steelers, though we can understand riding with Kelce’s volume.

Lumbering around the rest of the afternoon after limping off early, Kelce finished the game but posted a new four-week low for yardage. Held out of the end zone in five straight weeks, Kelce’s floor isn’t appealing as usual while he hasn’t been spiking weeks since around mid-season. Now he could be missing Patrick Mahomes for Week 16 against the Texans after the quarterback tweaked his ankle in Cleveland. The injury doesn’t seem overly serious, but the 13-1 Chiefs are firmly in rep management territory as they ready for the postseason. Kelce would still crack the top eight even if Carson Wentz got the call vs. Houston.

The volume and production surely left fantasy managers clamoring for more, but the veteran tight end made his presence felt when he connected with quarterback Patrick Mahomes on a bootleg on third-and-seven with two minutes remaining to allow the Chiefs to run down the clock and kick a game-winning field goal as time expired. The Chiefs somehow managed another dramatic finish as the kick hit the left upright and ultimately found its way through to clinch the AFC West division. Kelce could be busier when the Chiefs travel to Cleveland to face the Browns in Week 15.

He had an uncharacteristic drop over the middle, and only managed three red-zone targets in the contest. One of them, though, he was open on a cover-zero look from the Raiders and Patrick Mahomes simply placed it to the opposite shoulder of what Kelce was looking for. Rough. He’ll be a realistic TE1 against the Chargers in Week 14 but this offense is struggling enough that it is hard to call him much more than that.

Kelce had a decent day despite two drops, though it was again TE Noah Gray who had a big statistical outing. Gray for the second straight week caught two touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes — one on a wide open pass against busted coverage in the Carolina secondary. In an increasingly pass-first Kansas City offense, Kelce now has 40 receptions over his past five games. He’ll be a top fantasy option in Week 13 against the Raiders, who gave up ten catches — including a touchdown — to Kelce in Week 8.

We would say this is a new low, but Kelce caught one pass for just five yards in the Chiefs’ Week 2 win over the Bengals. Still, it was another disappointing game for the veteran tight end, who has five games on his ledger this season in which he failed to hit 40 yards while also being kept out of the end zone. This week’s dud comes on the heels of three-straight TE1 finishes, so we’ll put the overreaction on hold a bit. Kelce is still a must-start in Week 12 against the Panthers.

Patrick Mahomes missed him high on what should have been an easy second touchdown on Kansas City’s final offensive play of the game. Almost all of Kelce’s work was of the checkdown-and-falldown variety, with his touchdown coming as a Denver defender fell to leave him uncovered at the two-yard-line on fourth-and-goal. Rejuvenated with 40 targets since Week 8, Kelce figures to be back in the TE1 overall picture against Buffalo next week even if he doesn’t exactly show much juice in the open field at this point.

Kelce served as the primary target in another game played without both Rashee Rice and JuJu Smith-Schuster, although it was recent acquisition DeAndre Hopkins that scored twice on the evening. Even so, the fantasy returns for the veteran tight end were more than adequate even though he was tackled at the one in overtime. Kareem Hunt would score two plays later to walk it off for the Chiefs and send the team to a perfect 8-0 record as they now turn their sights to the Broncos in Week 10.

All four of Kelce’s box score numbers were season highs, making this the first time he’s found the end zone in 2024. The score marks his 75th career touchdown, moving him up to fifth all-time at the position. The veteran tight end was as surehanded as ever. He is a high-end TE1 against the Buccaneers in Week 9.

Patrick Mahomes and Kelce continue to not put up fantasy relevant numbers and it just doesn’t matter for the Chiefs as they go for a Super Bowl three-peat. Kelce, who trailed Xavier Worthy in targets, nearly came down with a long reception in double coverage late in the game. Kelce’s usually-gaudy target totals will be suppressed for as long as the Chiefs are a run-first offense. He’ll still be a top-10 fantasy play in Week 8 against the Raiders.