Aging Like Fine Wine: Don’t Take Travis Kelce for Granted
The Kansas City Chiefs' 34-28 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday featured plenty of standout performances — both good and bad — but no one's polarizing outing made more ripple waves on a historic scale than tight end Travis Kelce.
On the surface, Kelce's numbers don't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. Four catches on nine targets for 71 yards and no touchdowns is far from the best stat line the future Hall of Fame pass-catcher has posted in his career, and it's also far from the worst. Once the context of his performance in connection with the rest of his resume is factored in, though, it's easy to see just how significant of a game he had.
Not only did Kelce extend his own NFL record streak of 1,000-yard seasons by a tight end to seven, but he also set a Chiefs franchise record with a seventh straight 80-reception campaign. Somehow, neither of those feats was his most impressive against the Broncos. With a first-quarter reception of 37 yards, Kelce became the fastest tight end to reach the 10,000-yard mark for his career and joined the likes of Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jason Witten and Shannon Sharpe as the only tight ends to ever accomplish that feat.
After the game, Kelce's gratitude followed a progression. At first, he emphasized how important securing the win was. After that, he shifted focus to joining an elite all-time group. To end his thought, he tipped his cap to the numerous teammates and coaches he's in Kansas City who have helped him get to where he's at now: among the greatest players to ever put on cleats.
"Honestly, right now, the win means more than any of those stats. Everybody has kind of been talking about me getting those stats at some point this year, so it was on everybody's radar. But to come up here and get a win and be a part of the crowd that is the 10,000 crew — Gates, Witten, Gonzalez, Shannon Sharpe, the Bronco himself [and] the main guy I was chasing today, that's unbelievable company to be in. I've been very fortunate that I've had the coaches and the players around me to be able to have as much success in the NFL as I have."
At 33 years old, Kelce is having perhaps the best season of his career after being tasked with serving as the Chiefs' only elite target on offense. Working against Father Time and other odds related to defenses keying in on him this year, he's responded to the new challenges in the post-Tyreek Hill era by hauling in 81 passes for 1,039 yards and 12 touchdowns in just 13 games thus far in 2022. He's now just 21 yards away from tying Sharpe on the NFL's career leaderboard despite playing in 64 fewer games, and his career receiving yards per game average is pretty comfortably the best ever.
There will be a day, week, month or year in which Kelce will begin to slow down. Heck, he may physically already be there in terms of burst or long speed. With that said, his mental acuity and understanding of the game are the best they ever have been. His abilities to find different ways to get open before the catch and generate yards after it remain intact and are world-class.
Even as an elder statesman with plenty of young and hungry tight ends ready to take his crown as the best in the league, Kelce is chugging along at his same historic pace. Now, though, he has some additional accolades to help prove it. He's transcended being just this generation's best or most consistent (or available) performer at the tight end spot. He's cemented his status as one of the greatest to ever do it, and that would still be the case if he announced his retirement from the NFL tomorrow.
Kelce is showing very few signs of slowing down, however, so it's reasonable to expect him to keep adding to his career totals for at least a few years to come. Sure, some luck has been involved in his success, but he's also just elite at what he does. That, combined with one of the best head coach-quarterback duos ever, makes for one heck of an on-field support system. The fruits of that labor are here.
