Challenging Narrative That Kelce Had Bad Year in 2024

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end posted 97 receptions as team's primary target.

Oct 12, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) and wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) line up against the Los Angeles Chargers during the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Quick, name the tight end based on his 2024 statistics: 97 catches, 823 yards and three touchdowns.

To those asking whether Travis Kelce will bounce back in 2025, what does a bad year look like for an NFL tight end? Apparently, the bar of expectations is high.

“He wasn't bad last year,” Danny Parkins said on Wednesday’s edition of Breakfast Ball. “He had 97 catches, 97 catches! The explosive plays were down. And this is what I was saying the whole time. He is not at this point, in his mid-30s, an individually explosive football player, big yards after the catch, big plays, that sort of thing.”

Kansas City doesn’t need that sort of thing from Kelce if Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, and Xavier Worthy are in the huddle and healthy. Isiah Pacheco is in the backfield with Patrick Mahomes. But those five players were never on the same field in 2024.

Kelce got the focus of defensive coordinators. And when Kelce was Kansas City’s most dangerous weapon, opponents vetoed big plays. That’s why Kelce’s production dipped in 2024. His receiving yards (823) and touchdown receptions (3) were each his lowest totals over a full season. His yards per reception (8.5) also marked his lowest mark as a pro.

The NFL’s all-time leader in postseason receptions and receiving yards, Kelce, turns 36 in October. While Mahomes knows this could be the last NFL season for his teammate, he also knows there’s still a lot remaining in that tank.

“He knows he has a lot of football left in him,” Mahomes said after the Chiefs’ 40-22 loss in Super Bowl LIX. “You can see it. He always makes plays in the biggest moments. But it’s if he wants to put in that grind, it's a grind out there to play 20 games, or whatever it is, and get to a Super Bowl. He's done enough to be a gold-jacket guy, a first-ballot Hall of Famer.”

No one questions Kelce’s place in Canton, especially after he reached 35 career Super Bowl receptions against the Eagles and eclipsed Jerry Rice (33) for most ever. No one questions his passion or desire after he gave up the opportunity to earn more money off the field.

The biggest question for the Chiefs isn’t Kelce’s ability to bounce back, it’s the availability of the players around him, Parkins said.

“If Xavier Worthy, who had a great Super Bowl, if that continues, and Rashee Rice, who a year before had turned into a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver … if you have Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice and you improve their running game a little bit, which was not good especially when Pacheco got hurt, and Travis Kelce is the third or fourth option in your offense? Well, yeah, he's going to be really good.”

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