From a production standpoint, Kansas City Chiefs‘ tight end Travis Kelce continues to rank among the best in the NFL. After all, he caught at least 90 passes for the sixth straight season, and his catch percentage (76.9%) was his highest since 2015, his second year in the league.
But there are also signs that age may finally be catching up with Kelce and that perhaps he no longer should be considered the dominant tight end in the league.
Let’s take a look at the fantasy football outlook for Kelce entering the 2024 season.
Travis Kelce’s Fantasy Profile for the 2024 NFL Season
Despite the fact that he will turn 35 in October, Kelce is still very much in the Chiefs’ plans, since they signed him to a two-year deal in the offseason. Now the question is, how much does Kelce have left in the tank?
Yes, he topped 90 receptions once again (93) in 2023, but he failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since 2015, finishing with 984 yards. In addition, his 65.6 receiving yards per game was his lowest average since that 2015 season.
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Kelce’s five touchdown receptions represented a significant downturn from the 12 he recorded in 2022, and his 10.6 yards per reception was the lowest figure of his career.
Kelce did remind everyone of his elite talent when the playoffs came around. Kelce averaged almost 90 receiving yards a game in four postseason games (88.8) while contributing three touchdown receptions.
In the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LVIII, Kelce had 20 combined receptions for 209 yards.
Is Kelce a Good Fantasy Pick?
Kelce is TE2 in Pro Football Network’s Consensus Fantasy Football Rankings as of Aug. 23.
Through all the ups and downs Kelce’s numbers experienced, he was still the No. 1 point producer in fantasy football at his position last season, averaging 14.6 fantasy points per game. Overall, Kelce’s 219.4 fantasy points ranked third among tight ends in 2023, and that was in spite of missing two games.
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And at the end of the day, Kelce still has arguably the league’s No. 1 passer in Patrick Mahomes throwing him the ball. So there is still plenty of reason for fantasy managers to feel good about selecting Kelce in their respective drafts.
The question then becomes when you should pick the future Hall of Famer. As mentioned, Kelce remains an elite point producer in fantasy from the tight end position. And if Kelce can produce similar numbers to his 2023 season, he is still a valuable asset for fantasy managers.
However, there is probably no need to consider selecting Kelce over the first three or four rounds. If fantasy managers get to those spots in their drafts and Kelce is gone, not to worry. There are plenty of options at tight end that should be able to produce similar, if not better, numbers than Kelce.