Travis

Kelce

Kelce almost made fantasy managers (relatively) happy with a touchdown on a rushing attempt, but he came up just short. The tight end has been a non-factor in the first two games, as he’s been held to 39 years in the first two contests on just seven targets. Kelce did help extend a drive when a defender was called for holding the future Hall of Famer on a pass that was intercepted by the Bengals, but that doesn’t really help fantasy managers, and Mahomes threw a pick a few plays later. Kelce still remains a TE1 based on positional value and previous pedigree for Week 3 against the Falcons.

Kelce had 1-2 of his patented freelance connections with Patrick Mahomes, but his 34 yards would have been his fifth lowest total of 2023. That’s despite playing roughly 90 percent of the Chiefs’ snaps, per PFF’s Nathan Jahnke. Disappointing, but almost certainly just a slow night against an elite defense. Even if Kelce plays fewer snaps against the Bengals in Week 2, we would expect his targets to go up. He remains a top-three TE1.

The veteran tight who will turn 35 this season, understands the questions about when he’ll hang up the cleats, but says he “really can’t put a timeframe” on it. Kelce also acknowledged the opportunities that he has outside of football, but still enjoys coming to work. While he’s shown slight signs of decline, his chemistry with Patrick Mahomes is unmatched and as long he’s playing, Kelce is a threat. He still has the competitive fire that’ll keep him amongst the top tight ends in football.

With this extension, Kelce becomes the league’s highest-paid tight end and is now under contract through the 2027 season. This all but ensures that Kelce will retire as a Chief when he decides to hang it up, as he is now set to hit free agency after his age-37 season. Kelce took a slight step back in 2023, averaging 65.6 yards per game — his fewest since 2015, while also averaging a career-low 10.6 YPR. Despite this, he remained one of the league’s most productive tight ends, finishing the year with a line of 93-984-5 while being named to his ninth-straight Pro Bowl. The tight end position is one of the most demanding in the sport, but that hasn’t stopped some of the best in the game from playing at a high level into the twilight of their careers. Kelce has had a relatively clean bill of health over his first 11 years in the league and has a chance to be the latest to ride gracefully into the sunset over the final few years of his career.

Kelce had the lowest yards per reception (10.2) of his career in 2023 and “only” managed 984 yards — his lowest since 2015. Still, there’s no questioning he remains amongst the best tight ends in the league, as evidenced by his nine catches for 93 yards in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win over the 49ers. Kelce and the Chiefs have a chance to be the first team to win three straight Super Bowls — a feat that has never been accomplished in the 58-year history of the game. With plenty still left in the tank, and a potentially historic 2024 season on tap, Kelce opting to return shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

Kelce got off to a quiet start before his Patrick Mahomes mindmeld took over in the Chiefs’ third Super Bowl victory in five years. Kelce’s typically monster postseason followed up an atypically quiet regular campaign, one where his yardage output fell below 1,000 for the first time since 2015. He also averaged fewer than 2.00 yards per route run for the first time since 2015. It still barely mattered in fantasy where, though he did not live up to his lofty ADP, Kelce still finished as the No. 1 overall tight end by average PPR points. We have thought Kelce was slowing down before only to be proven wrong, but it is a safe assumption he is likely past-peak heading into his age-35 campaign in 2024. The Chiefs will still gladly welcome him back at his $12 million salary provided Kelce opts to return for a 12th year. At worst, he will be a top-three fantasy tight end, though the position is finally deepening after a lengthy down period.

The 10-plus reception effort was the sixth of Kelce’s record-breaking playoff career. An astounding nine of them — including his 19-yard touchdown — came in the first half, though his sole grab after the break was a critical chain-mover. Up to 22 catches through three postseason games this month, Kelce is going to be one of the X-factors of Super Bowl LVIII.

Kelce caught multiple passes for 20-plus yards, one of which was a wide-open 22-yard score in the second quarter to give the Chiefs their first touchdown of the day. He would later connect with Patrick Mahomes early in the third quarter for a three-yard score and has now gone for 70-plus yards in each of the Chiefs’ first two playoff games. An underwhelming end to the regular season created some cause for concern for Kelce, who is now in his age-34 season, but he’s proven to have plenty left in the tank for this playoff run. He and the Chiefs will look to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl with a win over the Ravens in next week’s AFC Championship Game.

Taylor Swift’s first career playoff game didn’t prove too big for Kelce, who looked like the player we’ve come to expect over the last decade. His 10 targets were second only to Rashee Rice (12) on the afternoon, but Kelce played an integral part in keeping the Chiefs’ offense on track throughout the day. Perhaps his biggest play was the one not made when he dropped a wide-open touchdown in the second quarter, but that proved inconsequential as the Chiefs ran away with a dominating win against a depleted Dolphins defense. Despite Rice’s high volume day, Kelce continues to be a force to be reckoned with. Whichever team he faces in the Divisional Round can expect to have their hands full.

Kelce, as expected, will be held out in a meaningless Week 18 matchup against the Bolts. The Chiefs are locked into the AFC’s third seed after a disappointing season full of offensive struggles, including some from the aging Kelce. Look for Blake Bell and Noah Gray to split the Kelce role against LA.