Why has Travis Kelce had such a small role in Chiefs’ offense?

Henry McKenna

NFL Reporter

Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are an inseparable duo. They’re the picture of on-field chemistry. Or — they were.

So far this season, the two Kansas City Chiefs stars haven’t been in sync. 

In two games, Kelce has just seven targets for four catches and 39 yards. No touchdowns. That’s a bizarre stat line for one of the greatest pass-catchers in NFL history — who, by the way, had 11 catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns in his first two games last season. (He sat out of Week 1 in 2023 due to a knee injury.)

This year, the Chiefs are undefeated, with a pair of nail-biters to open the season. And given all their recent Super Bowl wins despite mixed success in the regular season, there’s always the sense that they’ll be fine so long as Kelce and Mahomes are running the show. 

But Kelce is currently an afterthought, leaving Mahomes sort of on his own. 

And it’s not totally clear why.

“He’ll get his catches,” coach Andy Reid said Monday about Kelce. “It’s not that he’s slowing down or any of that bit. That’s not what the deal is. It’s just teams focus on him and kind of know he’s been Pat’s go-to guy. What it’s done, though, is that it’s allowed us to utilize the other guys around him, and they’ve been productive.”

It’s not just the lack of production from Kelce individually. That is easily explainable: They’re saving the veteran tight end, who turns 35 in October, for the end of the season.

The weird thing is that it’s not just that he’s lacking production. It’s that his spotty presence has led to issues.

The offensive team EPA/play when Mahomes targets is Kelce is an atrocious -.42, 73rd among tight ends. In 2022, that number was .37, which was second among tight ends, just behind George Kittle. And in 2022, it was .39, the highest among all tight ends. From 2014 to 2024, it was .42, a remarkable EPA/play. 

That helps highlight just how putrid Kelce’s numbers look for 2024.

Now, we’re…

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Publish date : 2024-09-19 13:50:21

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