Davis Mattek explained that if you spend early draft capital on an older tight end such as Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews or even Zach Ertz, you should automatically turn it into a three-tight-end build by grabbing two of the many rookie flyers available in the final rounds. Mattek pointed to Mason Taylor, Jatavian Sanders, and Elijah Arroyo (with even deeper shots like Arande Gadsden or Harold Fannin) as low-cost hedges. His reasoning: veteran TEs carry heightened injury and efficiency risk with age, while rookies usually start slow but can erupt in the back half of the season when Underdog playoff weeks kick in. Because there are so many cheap rookie darts, the opportunity cost is minimal—especially compared to burning an 18th-round pick on a third quarterback unless an outlier like Anthony Richardson falls. The veteran-plus-rookie combo protects your early investment and still offers the late-season spike weeks that decide best-ball tournaments.

Ian Hartitz said fantasy drafters need to brace for a real step back from Travis Kelce in 2025. Hartitz pointed to Kelce turning 35 before Week 1 and argued the Chiefs finally have enough wide-receiver firepower—Marquise “Hollywood” Brown healthy, Xavier Worthy set for a second-year leap, and Rashee Rice returning for the stretch run—to siphon middle-of-the-field looks that Kelce has dominated for nearly a decade. Last year’s ultra-low team aDOT, according to Hartitz, was largely injury-driven; if Patrick Mahomes pushes the ball downfield more, Kelce’s volume shrinks further. With Kansas City’s defense still limiting shoot-outs, Hartitz warned Kelce may not deliver the elite weekly ceilings that justify his usual Round-2 draft cost and advised fantasy managers to consider younger options at the position instead of assuming Kelce’s workload will hold steady.

Jason Moore said Travis Kelce is the clear fantasy winner from the Rashee Rice suspension news. In the first six games of 2024 Kelce and Rice competed for identical middle-of-the-field targets, and Kelce got off to one of the slowest starts of his career. Moore expects Patrick Mahomes to funnel those vacated looks back to his veteran tight end, noting that older stars like late-career Larry Fitzgerald and Hines Ward traditionally produced their best stretches early in the season before wear and tear set in. With Kansas City’s WR room relying on rookies (Xavier Worthy) and a new arrival (Hollywood Brown), Moore projects Kelce to open 2025 with a top-3 target share among all tight ends and regain weekly TE1 overall upside, making him worth his late-second / early-third ADP despite age concerns.

With Rice sidelined, Winks nudged Kelce to 95th overall, slotting him just ahead of current ADP. He believes the veteran will see an even steadier diet of high-percentage looks while the Chiefs sort out their young wideouts. Although age remains a concern, the tight-end landscape is so thin that an extra 1-2 weekly targets is enough for Kelce to beat price, especially in TE-premium formats.

Rich Cooling advised dynasty rebuilders to exploit offseason apathy toward "stinky" veterans such as Travis Kelce. He has seen Kelce traded for as little as a third-round rookie pick simply because managers assume the tight end has only one year left. Cooling argues that acquiring a future Hall-of-Famer at that price is nearly zero-risk: if Kelce produces yet another top-three TE season, you either harvest elite points or resell him for a premium once contenders realize they need the weekly advantage. If the cliff finally arrives, you are out only a late asset and have merely extended the rebuild timeline by a few months. The key is taking calculated risks on discounted vets when other managers are desperate to get younger.

Chris Raybon suggested sprinkling a futures bet on Travis Kelce to lead the league in receiving touchdowns at 20-to-1 or longer. Raybon acknowledged Kelce’s age-related decline and anticipated snap management but argued that Kansas City still lacks a true red-zone alpha; speed merchants Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown do their damage between the 20s. That leaves Andy Reid free to wheel Kelce out for goal-to-go packages where Patrick Mahomes can hunt mismatches. Raybon envisions career-low volume for Kelce yet a double-digit spike in TDs—"think Jody Fortson on steroids"—because Reid can scheme the veteran open inside the 10 every week. With sportsbooks pricing the market around Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, Raybon believes Kelce’s red-zone monopoly is mis-priced and worth a long-shot ticket.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound grabbed Travis Kelce at pick 121 and called the veteran tight end a screaming value while the market obsesses over Rashee Rice’s looming suspension. Pat argued the Rice turmoil funnels even more middle-of-the-field work to Kelce, yet drafters have not adjusted his price. He believes Kelce’s ADP "has to go up" once everyone realizes the Chiefs may open the season with an unproven wide-receiver group. Last year Kelce still owned a 23 % target share despite missing a game and posting an unusually low five touchdowns; Pat expects positive TD regression and a potential 25 % target share if Rice is out. Until Kelce’s cost climbs back toward the late first/early second, Pat is happy to scoop him any time he slips into the 100-plus range as a ceiling play that differentiates Best Ball Mania builds.

Evan Silva moved Travis Kelce up in his ranks, arguing the veteran tight end should start fast while Rice is out. He highlighted Kelce’s still-elite usage (league-leading targets-per-route when Rice missed time last year) and the deep trust between Mahomes and Kelce. Silva added that an older tight end’s legs are freshest early in the season, making Weeks 1-4 an ideal window for spike weeks. Even if Kelce’s yards-per-catch dipped to 8.5 in 2024, Silva expects volume to compensate, calling him a justifiable pick in the 80s of underdog drafts despite age and ‘wash’ concerns.

Andy Holloway said he is "totally fine" scooping Travis Kelce in the late-sixth or early-seventh round (ADP 6.11). Even during last year’s so-called down season Kelce logged 133 targets and 97 receptions—both elite for the position—and still led all tight ends in red-zone looks despite converting only three of them into scores. Holloway expects touchdown regression to swing back Kelce’s way and pointed out that a 24% target share when Rashee Rice was sidelined shows the 35-year-old can still command volume whenever the wideout room is banged up. For a mid-round price, Holloway believes Kelce retains weekly top-three upside and remains a league-winning swing if the Chiefs red-zone offense bounces back.

Mattek scooped Travis Kelce at pick 105, noting that despite age concerns Kelce still owns the best fantasy TE run ever and merely needs to hit double-digit touchdowns to smash his ADP. Pairing Kelce with Pacheco forms a modest but high-upside bet that Mahomes pushes 40 passing TDs, revitalizing Kelce’s elite ceiling.

Peter Overzet pushed back hard on the notion that taking Travis Kelce at pick 113 is drafting him "at his ceiling." Overzet reminded listeners that once the Week-2 main slate against the Chargers hits, Kelce will project as a top-four tight end in every DFS model—age concerns or not—much like how Alvin Kamara keeps projecting as an RB1 despite annual hand-wringing. If a player routinely profiles as the weekly TE1 yet slips into Round 9, that is value, not ceiling. Overzet is smashing Kelce whenever rooms let him fall past Round 8, confident the Mahomes connection and league-leading red-zone share will easily pay off a mid-third-round expectation and give drafters leveraged upside in Best Ball playoff weeks.

Jon Warner viewed the 699.5 receiving-yard prop on Travis Kelce as a clear over bet and a screaming value at his current 9th/10th-round Best Ball ADP (pick 113). Warner reminded listeners that Kelce still put up 820 yards last season despite Kansas City’s overall offensive lull. He believes the addition of more vertical weapons—Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, and rookie Xavier Worthy—will boost drive efficiency, opening wider passing lanes for Kelce and stabilizing his weekly floor. Because the line sits nearly 120 yards below Kelce’s 2023 output and 200-plus below his three-year average, Warner is smashing the higher on 699.5 in Pick’Em cards and drafting Kelce anytime he slides past Round 8, confident the future Hall-of-Famer has another 800-yard campaign in his range of median outcomes.

Andy Holloway warned that drafters need to price in a meaningful volume drop for Travis Kelce. Holloway is projecting Kelce below a 20 percent target share for the first time after a career spent in the 24–25 percent range. He cited Kansas City’s off-season additions at wide receiver and a likely philosophical shift toward spreading the ball around. Holloway acknowledged that if the decline fails to materialize Kelce will be a smash value, because even diminished yards-after-catch efficiency would be offset by sheer reception volume. But managers must now "call their shot" rather than blindly assuming vintage usage, making Kelce a far riskier pick in early rounds of full-PPR drafts.

Steve Palazzolo advised tempering expectations for Travis Kelce in 2024 redraft and best-ball leagues, arguing that last season finally revealed real athletic decline. On film Kelce could still separate underneath, but Palazzolo noted he “couldn’t do anything after the catch” – defenders brought him down on first contact instead of surrendering the chunk gains that once defined Kelce’s fantasy ceiling. The loss of explosive YAC turns many of his routes into simple chain-moving catches, shrinking weekly upside and making age-32 regression a tangible risk. Palazzolo recommended selling high or at least not paying first-round ADP for a tight end whose big-play rate has clearly slipped.

Mike Wright said Travis Kelce’s reported 25-pound weight loss is a green flag for anyone nervous about the 34-year-old tight end hitting an age cliff. Wright noted that Kelce looked noticeably slower last season but still commanded elite volume; dropping that much weight at his age tells Wright Kelce has attacked the offseason conditioning program and should regain a step. Wright added that the Chiefs’ offense still funnels high-leverage targets to Kelce, so even a modest bump in explosiveness could restore the yards-after-catch numbers that dipped in 2024. With the fantasy market pushing Kelce into the late third round, Wright views him as a value bet to rebound to top-three tight-end production rather than falling off completely.

JSU explained why he is passing on Travis Kelce at his still-hefty ADP. Once Rashee Rice became a full-time player, many of the short and intermediate targets that used to belong to Kelce flowed to Rice, capping Kelce’s weekly ceiling. Combine that target squeeze with the reality that Kelce is deep into his career mileage, and JSU does not see enough separation between Kelce and the next tier of tight ends to spend a premium pick. In his view, waiting on tight end and chasing spike weeks later in drafts is the sharper Best Ball approach for 2025.

Jason Moore snapped up Travis Kelce at the 9-10 turn, calling it an easy choice over Evan Engram. Moore admitted he is projecting Kelce to "lose a lot this year" to other Chiefs pass catchers, yet he still prefers the future Hall of Famer because even a reduced share keeps him in the weekly difference-maker tier. By waiting until Round 9 to address tight end and still landing Kelce, Moore believes drafters can avoid the touchdown-or-bust mid-tier while preserving earlier picks for premium positions.

Davis Mattek conceded Travis Kelce looked "actively bad" in 2024 but argued he remains a smash at his round-9 TE7 ADP. Even in a down year Kelce posted 97 receptions and cleared 110 targets for the ninth straight season. Mattek noted Kansas City slipped to 13th in yards per play—their worst finish of the Mahomes era—yet Kelce still produced two nuclear weeks (top-3 among tight ends). He expects the offense to rebound simply by regressing toward its six-year baseline, citing year-2 jumps from Rashee Rice, first-rounder Xavier Worthy, and a healthier Marquise Brown to lift overall efficiency and red-zone chances. In that scenario Kelce does not have to carry the unit; eight touchdowns on his usual volume would likely land him inside the top-4 tight ends. Mattek is happy to “just lock up 110 targets” at a draft cost that once bought Gerald Everett.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound argued that Travis Kelce’s four red-zone touchdowns in 2023 are guaranteed to regress upward. Even if Rashee Rice is fully healthy and the Chiefs add another wideout, Pat emphasized that Andy Reid’s offense still produces double-digit red-zone targets for Kelce every year; last season’s 4-TD outlier came on 13 red-zone catches. With Patrick Mahomes still top-three in red-zone pass attempts and Kansas City declining to add a true goal-line back, Pat expects Kelce to finish with at least 7–9 scores, making him a value any time he falls to the late-second/early-third round of Best Ball Mania drafts.

Davis Mattek said he is intentionally underweight on Travis Kelce even though he keeps the veteran tight end right at consensus ADP in his published ranks. Mattek joked that drafting a soon-to-be 35-year-old and hoping he "punishes" the field is a thin bet when Kansas City just added Marquise Brown, Rashee Rice is healthy, and rookie burner Xavier Worthy is demanding targets. After watching the Chiefs rotate three tight ends and six wide receivers the past two seasons, Mattek doubts Kelce can recapture the 25-plus-percent target share that propped up his early-round price. Without that massive volume—and with age-related decline already showing in his yards-after-catch numbers—Mattek prefers to pass on Kelce in favor of young wideouts or elite upside running backs at the same draft slot, limiting his exposure to occasional stacks only.

Mike Wright warned drafters that 2025 is the cliff year for Travis Kelce. Wright’s early projections give Kelce just a 15 % target share—down from 26 % last year and a career-low for the 35-year-old tight end. He pointed to the first three weeks of 2024, when Kelce dipped to 14 % while Rashee Rice sucked up the middle-of-the-field looks that have always fueled Kelce’s fantasy supremacy. With Xavier Worthy’s 4.21 speed stretching defenses vertically and Marquise Brown healthy, Wright doubts Patrick Mahomes can feed four mouths on an offense that failed to crack 4,000 passing yards. Age-related efficiency decline, plus fewer red-zone looks as Kansas City shifts to a deeper passing tree, make Kelce a risky second-round pick in season-long drafts. Wright advised treating him as a back-end TE1, not the automatic positional cheat code of years past.

Pat Kerrane said the market is over-reacting to Travis Kelce’s age and treating him like a brittle asset when a 10th-round ADP already bakes in that risk. Kelce still averaged 12.3 PPR points last season and ripped off four separate 20-plus outings, including 22 in Week 17. Kerrane compared him to late-career Rob Gronkowski and Tony Gonzalez— both of whom produced TE1 numbers well into their mid-30s— and noted that very few tight ends can realistically post those spike weeks. If Kelce merely delivers 80 percent of last year’s production he pays off the tag, and any bump in red-zone looks from a more efficient Chiefs passing attack (thanks to rookie burner Xavier Worthy) puts another 4–5 touchdown ceiling back on the table. In Best Ball Mania rooms where positional scarcity is amplified, Kerrane is happily scooping Kelce as a cheap path to elite tight-end scoring.

Pete Overzet pointed out that Travis Kelce’s sixth-round price on FFPC (ADP 74) is virtually identical to his DraftKings tag despite the 1.5-PPR premium, calling it a no-brainer opportunity. Overzet acknowledged the 35-year-old looked sluggish early last season, yet Kelce still finished first among tight ends in targets per route (0.28) and erupted for two 100-yard, multi-TD games during the playoff push. With Rashee Rice facing a suspension and the Chiefs failing to add real target competition, Overzet expects Patrick Mahomes to keep funneling high-leverage looks to his security blanket. Grabbing Kelce there secures weekly TE1 advantage without sacrificing early draft capital needed for wide receivers.