{"id":67747,"date":"2025-07-11T15:27:27","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T15:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=67747"},"modified":"2025-07-11T15:27:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T15:27:27","slug":"where-espn-ranks-chiefs-travis-kelce-heading-into-2025-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=67747","title":{"rendered":"Where ESPN ranks Chiefs&#8217; Travis Kelce heading into 2025 season"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>The Kansas City Chiefs might collectively have a chip on their shoulder entering 2025, but tight end Travis Kelce could have the most to prove.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN recently surveyed executives, coaches, and scouts to rank the top 10 players at 11 different positions. Kelce was named the fifth-best tight end on this year\u2019s list, and it seems as though many insiders believe he is firmly past his prime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe back-to-back tight end king fell well short of first place after signs of decline surfaced in 2024,\u201d ESPN\u2019 Jeremy Fowler wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of that can be chalked up to age. Kelce turns 36 in October and has played nearly 200 games over 12 years, including playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut several evaluators noted that Kelce played heavier last year, something he&#8217;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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Across 16 games last season, the three-time champion recorded 97 receptions, three touchdowns, and 823 receiving yards. All of these marks were comparable to what Kelce posted in 2023, but paled in comparison to what the All-Pro talent achieved in 2022 when he scored 12 touchdowns, caught 110 passes, and totaled 1338 receiving yards.<\/p>\n<p>Kelce\u2019s track record speaks for itself. Even during a down 2024, his gridiron IQ and connection with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes still made him a threat that worried opposing teams.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor sure [he showed] signs of physical decline, but you still have to worry about him because he&#8217;s such a smart player with a great connection with the QB,\u201d a veteran pro personnel evaluator said. \u201cJust doesn&#8217;t get open like he used to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Recency bias could also be in play as it pertains to the Westlake native\u2019s ranking. Kansas City fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX this past February. Kelce was uninspiring, and only grabbed four passes for 39 receiving yards in the 40-22 loss.<\/p>\n<p>Brock Bowers, George Kittle, Sam LaPorta, and Trey McBride were all ranked ahead of Kecle on this season\u2019s list. These tight ends might be less physically taxed, but Kelce will have a chance to show that experience could help generate a bounceback season.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ESPN ranked the top NFL tight ends ahead of the 2025 season, and Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce was not at the top of the list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":67756,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[10,9,160],"class_list":["post-67747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-nfl","tag-travis-kelce"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Where ESPN ranks Chiefs&#039; Travis Kelce heading into 2025 season - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=67747\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where ESPN ranks Chiefs&#039; 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