Aug 9, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Travis Kelce's Fantasy Football Reputation Takes Hit After 2024 Season

Originally posted on Kansas City Chiefs on SI
By Andy Quach | Last updated Aug 11, 2025 7:00 AM ET

With the 2025 NFL season fast approaching, fantasy football drafts are also quickly heating up. Preseason prep is perhaps just as important for fantasy players as it is for the athletes they end up picking.

Last season, tight end turned out to be indisputably the weakest position group in the sport. Coming away with one of the top three — George Kittle, Brock Bowers, or Trey McBride — likely won many drafters their entire league. On the other hand, players who spent a high pick on Kansas City Chiefs legend Travis Kelce probably didn't do very well.

Kelce had arguably his worst season to date in 2024, notching a career-low 823 receiving yards. Still, his reputation commanded that his owners keep him as their starting tight end week in and week out, waiting for the breakout game that never came. That hard-earned respect for Travis Kelce seems to have taken a severe hit ahead of the 2025 fantasy football season.

Travis Kelce is no longer the undisputed TE1 in fantasy football

In 2024 fantasy drafts, Travis Kelce maintained his position as the top tight end. He was the first off the board on average in both CBS and Sleeper leagues. That's no longer the case.

He finished last season as just the seventh-highest scorer at his position on average, with just 12.2 full-PPR points per game. Not only did he have a mediocre weekly output, but he never peaked higher than 25 points, and only finished with 20 or more four times.

Considering his average draft position of 28th overall, that was severely disappointing for his fantasy owners. Because of that, his stock has taken a significant dive so far in 2025 drafts. Currently, he's ranking as just the sixth tight end off the board, with an overall ADP of 72.

Despite the fall, that could still end up being too high. It wouldn't be shocking to see some of the tight ends going after him, leapfrogging him come season's end, such as T.J. Hockenson, Mark Andrews, or David Njoku.

Things would be different if last year were an aberration, but it marked the second year of a seemingly downward slide in his production. A deeper host of weapons for the Kansas City Chiefs, featuring Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Hollywood Brown, also points to another lukewarm season for Kelce. Noah Gray's emergence last year also suggests that Kelce's best years are behind him.

Since he's been dropping in drafts, Kelce could still end up being a good value pick in many leagues. That said, burning a top-five selection on him is no longer a viable strategy.

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All fantasy draft positions and stats via Fantasy Pros on a 17-game, full-PPR basis.

This article first appeared on Kansas City Chiefs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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