The Kansas City Chiefs have seen Travis Kelce morph into one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history and a core member of three championship teams. The Chiefs are now watching this football immortal degrade to the point where the offense as a whole is suffering because of it.
Kelce found himself on the wrong end of one of the few lowlights the Kansas City passing game in the last few weeks thanks to a brutal mistake on Monday Night Football against the Washington Commanders. A Patrick Mahomes pass hit Kelce right in the hands, but his inability to secure the catch led to Mahomes' second interception of the first half.
As is often the case with No. 87, however, he could turn on the jets at any minute. Kelce raced right up to the 100-yard plateau immediately after his mistake, even finding the end zone for career touchdown No. 80. As great as he was in this game, Kelce also gave Chiefs fans a reminder that there won't be many more of these games left in his career.
The Chiefs have kicked the Kelce can down the road for years now, and now they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Kelce seems less likely than ever before to play in 2026, and the lack of free agency talent at the position makes replacements even harder to come by.
Finding the next Kelce in the NFL Draft may be even more difficult for the Chiefs, as the 2026 class is incredibly thin at the tight end position. The Chiefs' reluctance to plan for age eventually getting the better of Kelce may finally start to anchor down the passing game after this season.
Chiefs may find it difficult to replace Travis Kelce in NFL Draft
The only player generally regarded as someone who could be picked in the first round of the 2026 Draft is Oregon's Kenyon Sadiq. However, very few big boards will have him ranked as a Top 20 player, and taking him will force the Chiefs to pass on another running back or defensive tackle.
How about Day 2? Well, only Ohio State's Max Klare is currently pegged as a Day 2 pick, and many of the other top prospects at the position (Vanderbilt's Eli Stowers, Baylor's Michael Trigg) are not good enough blockers to make up for some average talent as a receiver.
The Chiefs may indeed roll into 2026 with Noah Gray as Kelce's replacement, but the gap in receiving skill between those two might make it difficult for Mahomes' offense to run many of the same concepts they did in past seasons. Gray is still a worse player than even a compromised Kelce.
Time will tell if Andy Reid gets a succession plan for Kelce, but he won't have a ton of resources to accomplish it.