We can officially put the narrative of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce being old and slow to bed.
Kelce got off to a rough start statistically this season, catching just eight passes for 69 yards during his first three games. This led to speculation that Kelce, who is now 35-years-old, isn’t the same caliber player that he has been throughout his 12-year Hall of Fame worthy career.
Those doubters have now been silenced. Over his past five games, Kelce has 44 receptions for 366 yards and a touchdown. He logged his best performance of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night, catching 14 passes for 100 yards. That’s good for a new NFL record for most receptions in a single game by a player 35 or older at any position, per ESPN analyst Benjamin Solak.
Kelce is now on pace for 111 catches and 925 yards for the season. He needs just 79 more yards to pass the legendary Antonio Gates for third-most receiving yards by a tight end in NFL history. Kelce is still quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ top target as he continues to be a master at finding space to get open.
Mahomes had this to say about Kelce’s performance following Monday’s win.
“I didn’t realize he (Travis Kelce) had that many catches.” Mahomes said. “Yeah, I mean he just does a great job of finding space. I think with having DeAndre (Hopkins) out there it takes pressure off him to where all the eyes aren’t on him the entire time. Then, I know it was out of bounds but then the deep shot to Xavier (Worthy) down the field and then being close with that one to J-Wat (Justin Watson), it spreads the defense out and you let guys like that work underneath. I’m almost positive he (Travis Kelce) had a game with 16 receptions. It might have been a playoff game though, but yeah, whenever he gets going, he’s hard to stop.”
Kelce is already reaping the benefits of the addition of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins has quickly established himself as a force within the Chiefs’ offense as he caught eight passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns against the Bucs, opening things up for Kelce across the middle.
The duo of Hopkins and Kelce is going to be tough for opposing defenses to deal with. Despite having a rough performance on Monday night, things should also open up for speedy rookie receiver Xavier Worthy.
Kansas City’s passing game has continued to improve over the past few weeks, and scarily for the rest of the NFL, still hasn’t quite put it all together. As the Chiefs’ offense keeps evolving, Kelce will remain a huge part of it as he always has.
