The Kansas City Chiefs’ offense goes as Patrick Mahomes does, but Travis Kelce plays a significant role in keeping the line moving as well.
Despite turning 34 last month, Kelce is still the best tight end in the league and is on pace to secure yet another 1,000-yard receiving season. The veteran superstar has a comfortable team lead in targets (72), receptions (57), receiving yards (597) and touchdowns (4), also posting the highest success rate among all pass catchers on the Chiefs’ offense. It’s been a bit of a boom-or-bust season for Kelce, who has two games with over 100 receiving yards but has no more than 69 in any other contest.
Kansas City is obviously continuing to rely on Kelce to produce, but could it come back to bite them? No other tight end has stepped all the way up, and counting on someone in year No. 11 to carry an offense is risky business. The state of the Chiefs’ tight end room is secure, yet something to monitor at the same time.
Joshua Brisco and Jordan Foote start an Arrowhead Report bye-week discussion to assess where Kansas City is at with the position as the season passes its midpoint
It’s Kelce by default, as always. While the 34-year-old hasn’t been the most consistent player this season, he’s still pacing for well over 1,000 yards and is head and shoulders above any other pass-catching option on the Chiefs. In eight games played, Kelce is averaging nine targets and seven catches per outing. His yards per reception may be down, but his success rate remains high and his catch percentage is the highest single-season mark of his entire career. When the Chiefs go Kelce’s way, good things routinely happen.
