Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce will return for his 13th NFL season, in which he will turn 36 years old. Kelce has without a doubt already established himself as one of the best tight ends in NFL history. His 69.4 receiving yards per game ranks No. 1 among all tight ends that have played at least 20 NFL games, and he also owns the most 1,000-yard receiving seasons by a tight end with seven.
Still, how dangerous is Kelce these days? He caught 97 passes for 823 yards and three touchdowns last season. That receiving yards total was Kelce’s lowest since his rookie year back in 2013, and his 8.5 yards per reception marked a career low as well. Once viewed as a top 10 player in the NFL regardless of position, where does Kelce rank entering 2025? In Pete Prisco’s annual top 100 players list, Kelce comes in at No. 96.
Prisco pointed out that it looked like age impacted Kelce’s play in 2024, and it’s difficult to imagine that drop-off in production going the other direction in what is likely his final NFL season. Kelce previously came in at No. 18 on Prisco’s top 100 players list for 2024, and at No. 6 in 2023.
|
2023 |
6 |
“He caught 110 passes with 12 touchdown catches to solidify his position as the top tight end and one of the best weapons in the league. Can he be covered with one man? No way.” |
|
2024 |
18 |
“He wasn’t quite as good last year as he’s been in his career with too many drops, but he still remains one of the best in the league. A bad year for him was catching 93 passes, but his yards per catch fell to 10.6, the lowest of his career. He did amp it up in the postseason with 32 catches in four games.” |
|
2025 |
96 |
“Age started to look like it was impacting Kelce’s play last season as he didn’t look to be the same player. There were moments, but the consistency wasn’t there. He had 97 catches, but he averaged just 8.5 per catch, the lowest of his career, which is not a good sign for a 35-year-old.” |
Kelce is Prisco’s No. 5 tight end for 2025, behind Sam LaPorta (No. 86), Trey McBride (No. 42), George Kittle (No. 25) and Brock Bowers (No. 22). A few interesting players listed as better than Kelce entering 2025 are Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving, Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Zach Tom and free agent cornerback Jaire Alexander.
Even if Kelce isn’t pushing for First Team All-Pro in 2025, he is still one of the most important players on this Chiefs team that is looking to avenge their embarrassing Super Bowl LIX loss. A wide receiver not named Tyreek Hill hasn’t led the Chiefs in receiving yards since 2015, as that spot is usually reserved for Kelce. While 823 yards receiving is rather pedestrian for him, it was still 185 more receiving yards than his next closest teammate.
Kelce is still the No. 1 target Patrick Mahomes looks to when things break down, and he’s reliable when it comes to moving the chains. Maybe the days of reeling off 40-yard receptions are behind him, but even at 35 years old, Kelce is still one of the best players in the NFL.
Add Comment