At this time last year, Travis Kelce was on top of the world as he was widely considered the top tight end in the NFL and spent the summer traveling to watch his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, perform at her record-breaking Eras Tour, all while he was riding the high of a second-consecutive Super Bowl victory.
This year, however, things are different.
Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs ended the 2024 season with a blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, following a season where Kelce often looked like a shell of his former self as he posted career-low statistics in every major receiving category. He's since spent a rather quiet summer with limited public appearances with his superstar girlfriend.
Now, as he prepares for what could be the final season of his storied NFL career, the once dominant tight end has been dealt a pretty significant reality check by a group of NFL experts.
Every season, ESPN surveys a collection of league executives, coaches, and scouts to put together a list ranking the top 10 players at each position group. The past two seasons, Kelce was ranked as the top tight end in the league. This year, he comes in all the way down at No. 5 with none of the voters ranking him higher than fourth.
"The back-to-back tight end king fell well short of first place after signs of decline surfaced in 2024," NFL insider Jeremy Fowler wrote for ESPN, sharing the results of the voting.
Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs walks to the locker room after the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles during Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome on February 9, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Getty Images
"Most of that can be chalked up to age. Kelce turns 36 in October and has played nearly 200 games over 12 years, including playoffs," Fowler continued.
"But several evaluators noted that Kelce played heavier last year, something he's aiming to fix. He has slimmed down this offseason in preparation for what could be his final season. While a team source believes any weight issues did not affect his play dramatically, lack of explosive plays was a problem. His 8.5 yards per catch were a career low by a wide margin."
This is quite a reality check for Kelce, who has been widely considered the top tight end in the league for years and has established himself as one of the most dominant pass-catching tight ends in NFL history.
It's worth noting that Kelce himself has acknowledged his dip in production last season, but he still sounds confident in his ability to perform at a high level this season.
"I still feel like I can play at a high level and possibly at a higher level than I did last year," Kelce said earlier this year. "I don't think it was my best outing, you know? I think I let my guys down in a lot more moments than I helped them, especially if you look at my track record and how I've been in years past. You know, I want to give it a good run. I got a bad taste in my mouth about how I ended the year and how well I was playing, and how accountable I was for the people around me."
We'll have to see how Kelce performs this year, but it's pretty clear that experts around the league think he has lost a step.
Travis Kelce Gets a Reality Check Before NFL Season first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 17, 2025
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