Travis Kelce Will Be A Big Part Of The Chiefs' Super Bowl Plan

Travis Kelce has done a lot of heavy lifting this season. The seven-year veteran led all tight ends in targets, catches and receiving yards during the regular season. Kelce’s stellar performance in the postseason led to him lifting the Lamar Hunt Trophy (and Paul Rudd) on Sunday.

“Hey! Look at us. Who would’ve thought?”

Paul Rudd, the ultimate @Chiefs fan hanging with @tkelce is post game goals. pic.twitter.com/MO0VU1CKHz

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 21, 2020

Kelce has been a model of consistency in his career, missing just one game since the beginning of 2014. In the last five seasons, the tight end has averaged over 125 targets per season and been named to the Pro Bowl every year. In 2019, he notched at least 5 catches or 50 receiving yards in all but two games and was third in the NFL across all positions in TOARS.

His top performance came in the Divisional Round of the playoffs where he torched the Houston Texans for 10 catches on 12 targets for 134 yards and three touchdowns. In NFL history, only Rob Gronkowski has put similar numbers in a postseason game from the tight end position.

When the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers met a year ago, Kelce exploded for 114 yards on 8 catches in a 38-27 victory, but a lot has changed in the Bay Area since then. Robert Saleh’s defense allowed just one 100-yard performance and just three 50-yard games to tight ends all season. Opposing tight end groups averaged just 4 catches for 38 yards per game against San Francisco and scored just 7 total touchdowns.

Despite his listed position, Kelce could be a wild card in Andy Reid’s scheme in the Super Bowl. He has lined up at tight end, in the slot, out wide, and even took a direct snap for a rushing TD in 2019. Heading into the Super Bowl, Kelce leads all remaining receivers with 13 catches, 164 yards and 3 touchdowns, numbers he tallied while playing with a hamstring he tweaked in the first half of the Houston game.

In Reid’s lone Super Bowl appearance, Eagles tight end LJ Smith received 8 targets, third on the team behind Terrell Owens (14) and Brian Westbrook (11). Even if Kelce’s health isn’t 100%, expect a big workload from the tight end as Reid tries to scheme mismatches against the vaunted 49ers defense.