Travis Kelce ‘narrowly’ holds on to top tight end ranking among NFL executives

On Friday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler continued his annual survey series with the tight end position. To come up with the rankings, Fowler polls the NFL’s top executives, coaches and scouts to create positional rankings.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isaiah Pacheco was named an honorable mention in the initial column released Monday, and Chris Jones earned the top spot for defensive tackles on Tuesday. After missing out on a representative for defensive ends on Wednesday, the Chiefs scored another honorable mention with Justin Reid on Thursday.

As has been the case for a while now, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is viewed as the game’s best tight end among league decision-makers:

1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Highest ranking: 1 | Lowest ranking: 5

Age: 34 | Last year’s ranking: 1

Kelce is the back-to-back tight end king, narrowly outdistancing Kittle with a flurry of late first-place votes.

His ability to separate, on the field and in voting, draws questions at age 34. He missed out on an All-Pro first- or second-team and a 1,000-yard season for the first time since 2015. His 10.6 yards per catch marked a career low.

But his 51 receiving first downs and 65.6 yards per game ranked first among tight ends. And under the bright playoff lights, Kelce delivered with 32 catches for 355 yards and three touchdowns in four games.

“He’s still a matchup problem in the passing game, still has tremendous rapport with [Patrick] Mahomes, big with great hands, instinctive, effective after the catch,” an NFC executive said.

The Chiefs’ entire passing game struggled last season, allowing defenses to sag on Kelce in coverage.

“He’s the focal point. You can put more resources toward stopping him,” the executive said. “For years, he would kill one-on-ones every time. He maybe doesn’t do that as much but [is] still a problem there.”

Even after what was considered a “down year” (by his lofty standards) and entering this year’s NFL season at the age of 34, Kelce “narrowly” remained the top dog among league decision-makers.

I’ve often posed the question on these pages (so I’ll do it again): was Kelce’s age to blame for lesser production in 2023, or was it the freak hyperextended knee that cost him the first game and required treatment in the weeks thereafter?

I think the tight end was managing the injury throughout the first part of the 2023 season, as he did not break 70 yards until Week 6. After Kansas City’s Week 10 bye week, he averaged five catches and 55 yards the rest of the season before shrewdly taking off Week 18 despite losing his 1,000-yard streak.

In the playoffs, Kelce looked like a 20-something again, completing the run with 32 catches, 355 yards and three touchdowns. In the past, we have seen tight ends continue to see production well into their 30s.

Assuming Kelce can avoid a last-minute preseason injury, I think it’s possible he will return to form in 2024. When it comes to the tight end king, George Kittle has been nipping at his tail for a while, and Mark Andrews and Sam LaPorta appear ready to compete for the crown.

A return to form will be necessary to silence the doubters when this exercise takes place ahead of the 2025 season.