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The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to defend their Super Bowl in 2023. Fantasy football players looking to win their leagues this season should employ a strategy that the Chiefs have used for years: have Travis Kelce on your roster.
For fantasy football, Kelce remains one of the best overall players and the very best tight end. The Chiefs superstar is set up to have another big season and be in consideration for a top-10 ranking among fantasy football players. Even as he approaches his 11th NFL season, he's due for another monster campaign.
2022 Season Review
Travis Kelce had another dominant season with the Chiefs in 2022. He tallied 1,338 receiving yards and a career-best 12 touchdowns across his 17 games. His bill of health has been clean over the years and while the concerns of getting older are in play for the 33-year-old, we're going to have to see his decline happen before believing it's here.
What makes Kelce extra intriguing is that he is coming off of a career-high 152 targets and 110 receptions, which ranked second in the whole NFL last year behind only Justin Jefferson and Tyreek Hill. His dozen reception touchdowns trailed only Davante Adams. He was one of six players with 150 targets and his catch percentage of 72.4 percent was the best of that group. His usage in the Chiefs' offense has always been super high and nothing indicates that it will change this season.
Kelce's consistency makes him a more appealing option to other high-end pass catchers. He had at least four catches in every game last season and fewer than 50 receiving yards in only three. He made up for a season-low 25 yards by scoring four touchdowns. On a week-to-week basis, Kelce should be very good.
Comparison to the Competition
Once again, positional value makes Kelce one of the biggest names in fantasy football. No other tight end is putting up the numbers he is. Guys like Mark Andrews, Evan Engram and T.J. Hockenson got looks as often as some very good wideouts. Kelce's volume ranks among the absolute best of the best. This should only improve going forward by looking at Kansas City's roster.
The Chiefs found great success replacing Hill's production by committee, relying on a solid collection of wideouts without a true alpha. This year should see more of the same with young wideouts Rashee Rice, Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney (who is already expected to miss a chunk of the 2023 season) and veterans Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Richie James and Justin Watson. Kelce, once again, will be the primary passing target for the best quarterback in football.
Travis Kelce doesn't need an elite target share to score similarly to the elite fantasy WRs
Shows how valuable Patrick Mahomes targets are
And why I STILL have hope for Skyy Moore entering Year 2, since even a 15% target share could be fantasy relevanthttps://t.co/W1cjhzCaIm pic.twitter.com/CKJKJJyVLb
— Josh Larky (@jlarkytweets) July 19, 2023
The tight-end position has a lot of talent but no one that stands up to Travis Kelce's talent or situation. He's a monster in the open field with super reliable hands and a knack for finding the soft spots in defenses. The foundation of the Chiefs' passing attack is over-the-middle throws to Kelce that he turns into sizable gains. Fantasy football managers can build great lineups with Kelce leading the way, too.
George Kittle and Dallas Goedert are very good but will never crack the top spot in their offense with numerous stars at other positions. Andrews could see his usage decline after the additions of Odell Beckham Jr. and first-round rookie Zay Flowers, though he should still be Lamar Jackson's go-to guy. Hockenson remains the second option, at best, to a superstar wideout in Jefferson. Younger guys like Kyle Pitts and Pat Freiermuth play with young quarterbacks who are still trying to find their footing.
Darren Waller, like Kelce, is the most dangerous pass-catching option on a New York Giants team with lots of decent wide receivers. But catching passes from Daniel Jones is not quite the same as catching them from Patrick Mahomes. Waller has the chance to be the top playmaker in New York but betting on him to reach Kelce's level, especially given his injury concerns, is a massively risky wager.
2023 Fantasy Football Outlook
There's simply no argument for anyone besides Kelce as the top tight end in 2023 fantasy football. But the Chiefs superstar still may not be worthy of the very top pick. Superstar wideouts like Jefferson, Hill, Cooper Kupp and Ja'Marr Chase and supersar running backs like Austin Ekeler, Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor and even rookie Bijan Robinson project to be amazing picks for 2023 fantasy football. These players will either get an unreal amount of looks or play with a supporting cast that will stretch defenses thinner.
Jefferson and McCaffrey stand out as guys who, on top of contending for the best at their position, will get more looks than Kelce. McCaffrey's dual-threat capabilities will afford him tons of opportunity while Jefferson is coming off of another season of over 160 targets, leading the league with 184 last season.
Still, Kelce should be in consideration for a top-10 pick, especially outside of the top five. The Chiefs superstar produces like a WR1 and offers lineup flexibility few other players do. Fantasy football managers should continue to treat Kelce like a superstar for their rosters and draft him somewhere between the fifth pick and the end of the first round, if not the very start of the second round.
