Chiefs' Andy Reid, beat writer defend Travis Kelce over slow start to season

The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs opened the ongoing season with three consecutive victories, but that has been somewhat overshadowed by the fact that All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce has thus far recorded just eight catches for 69 yards and no touchdowns.

Head coach Andy Reid became the latest person associated with the Chiefs to defend Kelce while speaking with reporters on Wednesday. 

"I know people are saying that he’s old or whatever, that he has distractions and all this. The defenses don’t think that," Reid said about Kelce, as shared by Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post. "We have another receiver opposite him that has a lot of yards and catches. That’s how this thing goes. Trav is fine. He just keeps being Trav. He works his tail off and he hasn’t lost a step. He’s not distracted. That’s not the case. [Opposing defenses] are making sure he’s taken care of."

That other receiver is Rashee Rice, who flourished over the season's first three weeks as defenses mostly shut Kelce down. According to ESPN stats, Rice began Thursday leading the NFL with 24 receptions. He's tied for third with 29 targets, second with 288 receiving yards and has contributed two touchdown catches. 

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes previously suggested that Kelce's lackluster numbers were related to how defenses concentrated their efforts on not getting burned by arguably the greatest pass-catching tight end in NFL history. However, individuals such as well-known analyst and former ESPN personality Todd McShay have directly said they feel Kelce is "out of shape" because the 34-year-old spent much of the offseason "partying," focusing on off-the-field endeavors and "jet-setting around with" girlfriend and entertainment superstar Taylor Swift. 

For a piece published Thursday, Chiefs beat writer Nate Taylor of The Athletic pointed out that Kelce got open plenty during Kansas City's first three games. 

"As a route runner," Taylor explained, "Kelce has created an average separation of 3.5 yards, tied for 13th among tight ends, according to Next Gen Stats. Another star player has an average separation of 3.6 yards this season. That player is Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who has produced 14 receptions on 21 targets for 273 yards and three touchdowns."

In fairness to McShay, he mentioned that he felt Kelce would "probably work himself back into shape by Week 8, 9, 10 this season." Meanwhile, Taylor added that Kelce's numbers will likely improve once Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy "incorporate [Kelce] more into their play calls, especially in the red zone." 

Kelce insisted this week he's happy the Chiefs are "playing winning football," but history shows he'd prefer to have better numbers at this point of the season. He'll look to silence critics when unbeaten Kansas City plays at the 2-1 Los Angeles Chargers this coming Sunday.