3 significant questions for Kansas City Chiefs at tight end
By Matt Conner
Tight end is normally not a position anyone would bring up when discussing the Kansas City Chiefs. That's for good reason since they employ the single best player at the position in the entire league and enjoy the sort of depth most teams would love to have.
Unfortunately, the truth is that nothing is assured these days in the NFL, a league known for its parity. The regular season's length presents problems in myriad ways, including fatigue and injuries. Competition brings out the best in some and the worst in others, and it can be a cruel business when the bottom can fall out so quickly on even the most well-known players.
As the Chiefs go into another season, the truth is that even the Super Bowl champs know they can take nothing for granted, even at a position known for its quality and quantity. In that spirit, let's look at the most significant questions facing the Chiefs at tight end as they prepare to defend their Super Bowl title.
Can Travis Kelce sustain his production?
The biggest question of all concerns the biggest player of all because if something goes awry, it would become the biggest issue of all. God forbid anything happens to Travis Kelce, even in a "slightly slowing down" kind of way, because the man is the centerpiece of the Chiefs offense.
To ask this question seems silly on the surface because Kelce has aged like very few players have historically done in NFL history. He's now well into his thirties and yet he's producing career numbers after already putting up the sort of sustained production that has set NFL records and placed him alongside the best to ever play the position. Kelce is extending his own marks at this point, and only Father Time will be the one who keeps him from erasing everyone's name before him.
That's what makes this question absurd on the surface because we ask it every year. It made sense to ask if Kelce was potentially going to hit the wall after the 2018 season when he turned 30 years old. Instead, he's made the Pro Bowl every year since and recently said he's going to play "until the wheels fall off." Does anyone see that happening anytime soon?
But here's the flip side. No one ever sees the end of their career coming. It just happens. Players look old overnight. Suddenly the arm is weak or the burst isn't there or the body just can't handle the rigors of a season anymore. And for a player with a full decade in the league and 947 catches in 162 games played, you have to wonder if the wheels might wobble at bit at the age of 34.
Anything is possible here, but judging by the way Kelce is acting this offseason, he's going to look just fine when Week 1 rolls around. His profile as a household name is only growing and his star is still rising off the field even as he's helping the Chiefs reach dynasty status on it. We're going to assume this question will remain silly for some time, but any list of potential concerns has to start here.