Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes Set Record Straight on Travis Kelce's Production

Travis Kelce has started the season slow, but Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes think he's still been helpful and better days are ahead.

Sep 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III (3) breaks up a pass intended for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

As the Kansas City Chiefs' offense continues to find its footing early in the season, tight end Travis Kelce is doing the same. The future Hall of Fame pass catcher hasn't made his usual impact thus far, at least in the box score, through three games.

That's led many to wonder why – or what – has led to the statistical decline for someone who's built a reputation as the NFL's best player at his position. Speaking to the media on Wednesday morning, head coach Andy Reid set the record straight on whether any external factors have impacted Kelce's performance.

"I know people are saying he's old or whatever, has distractions and all of this... defenses don't think that," Reid said. "We have another receiver that plays opposite him that has a lot of yards and catches. That's how this thing goes. Trav is fine. He just keeps being Trav. He works his tail off, he hasn't lost a step and all those things. He's not distracted – that's not the case. People are making sure they have him taken care of by some of these defenses."

Reid believes that Kelce occupying attention from defenses has had an impact on other weapons on offense. Him getting more than one defender assigned to him means there's more of an advantage for players like Noah Gray and Rashee Rice.

"He literally does know that," Reid said. "He collects people, and then you have the check-downs. We had [them] last week, these big gains. Noah standing in the middle of the field by himself. [No.] 4 (Rice) being able to get one-on-one situations. Trav knows that. He came off the field and goes, 'Man, just keep dialing them up and let them do that.'"

Entering Week 4, Rice is far and away the Chiefs' most productive receiver. His targets (29), receptions (24) and yards (288) are all some of the best marks in all of football, also serving as an example of the offense running through him. Kelce is a distant second in receptions with eight, although rookie wideout Xavier Worthy has him beat for yards by 12. Kelce is scoreless three games into the year; Rice, Worthy, receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and even offensive tackle Wanya Morris have found the end zone already.

Given that Kelce is just days away from his 35th birthday, it's only natural for folks to speculate about why he isn't making a huge quantifiable difference. Heck, advanced metrics like yards traveled per play also reflect someone who's slowing down. There's no denying that Kelce isn't the same athlete he was five-plus years ago, although his mind remains sharp and his tape shows flashes of him getting open with relative ease.

As the Chiefs wait for Kelce to get more favorable opportunities, quarterback Patrick Mahomes credits his superstar tight end for taking everything in stride.

"I think he's handling it amazingly, honestly," Mahomes said. "I feel like I want to get him the ball more, whereas he's just like, 'I just want to win, man. I don't care. I'll run these routes and take guys with me so other guys can get open.' We understand he's an important part of this offense, and we want to make sure that we're still featuring him. But at the same time, if defenses are going to take away him, I have to get the ball to other guys and let them make plays. But as the season goes on if we continue to show that we're going to throw it to Rashee and we're going to throw it to these other guys that are going to make plays, teams are going to have to do those one-on-one matchups. That's when Travis will eat."

Read More: Andy Reid Discusses Xavier Worthy Usage, Sets Record Straight on Miscommunication