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.