Travis Kelce Was in Peak Form Against the Cardinals

NFL history has only one 33-year-old tight end with a 1,000-yard season, but Travis Kelce looks all but poised to make that two.

This was the year, "they" told us, that Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce would begin to show regression. Following a 2020-21 campaign that rivaled the greatest tight end seasons of all time, the seven-time Pro Bowler set the bar so high that anything that wasn’t remotely close would likely be met with questions.

For nearly every tight end in league history, a 92-catch, 1,125-yard, nine-touchdown season would’ve been followed by praise, popularity and a payday. Just as a reference, it’s only been done 14 times, and three of them belong to No. 87.

For Kelce, who pieced together those very numbers last season, it led to whispers that a decline was imminent. A "down year," some went as far as calling it. Chalk it up as a Week 1 overreaction if you wish, but Kelce appeared to be in peak form during the Chiefs' 44-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals. 

The final box score tells the story of that dominance adequately: eight catches (on nine targets) for 121 yards, one score, a 155.8 passer rating when targeted and a healthy 64% snap count. Kelce’s always must-see programming, and not just because of his 6-foot-5, 256-pound frame.

It was particularly difficult this week to not notice how aggressive Kelce was in hunting out blocks to open up teammates for open-field opportunities. This especially applies given the popular narrative that he isn’t much of a blocker.

Just watch No. 87 https://t.co/unUM1D0DTG pic.twitter.com/Aj6ip5aLWD

— Zack Eisen (@zackeisen21) September 13, 2022

In looking over the All-22 from Kelce’s play, every facet of his game was there for the observing. For those who enjoy watching route-running technicians creating art, Kelce had you covered — the Cardinals certainly didn’t have him covered — with nifty “China routes,” while also putting on a masterclass of how to attack a defender’s leverage.

With that said, it was the blocking that may have been the first thing that stood out. And even Pro Football Focus couldn’t give Kelce the Patrick Mahomes treatment after his performance. The All-Pro predictably led his position with a 91.9 offensive grade, but his 86.7 run blocking grade on 11 snaps was also the second-highest. In short: a future Hall of Famer did future Hall of Famer things.

Drawing too deeply a conclusion on a Week 1 opener is never ideal, but Kelce’s performance in particular did sort of provide an introduction to one of the must-answer questions surrounding the 2022-23 Kansas City Chiefs: how exactly would this offense look without Tyreek Hill helping lead the receiving corp? Would the perceived added defensive attention on Kelce put a cap on his ceiling?

One week in, it doesn’t appear as such. Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy were in midseason form as play-callers, and, as it was noted on The Athletic’s Time's Ours podcast, Kelce took it upon himself to obliterate the matchups against the so-called prototypical defenders capable of containing him. Based on how quickly the likes of JuJu Smith-Schuster, Skyy Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling have acquainted themselves, along with Mecole Hardman and the others’ continued playmaking, devoting too much attention seems to be just as disadvantageous.

From a schematic standpoint, the Chiefs also reaffirmed what we observed in the preseason with the heavy personnel packages. Of the 70 snaps Kansas City’s offense took in the win, they had 20 snaps in a twin-TE set and an additional eight out of “13 personnel.” 

Having three tight ends capable of masquerading as both capable pass-catchers and gritty blockers can only add unpredictability to this offense. Especially when you can do this out of it:

PAP out of 13 personnel with Mahomes throwing a dime to the crosser. pic.twitter.com/rVbuaHkM9l

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) September 12, 2022

It goes without saying, though, that the Chiefs won’t always have it this easily. The rest of the NFL will learn from the Cardinals’ choice to blitz Mahomes on a career-high 54 percent of his dropbacks — did this need to be learned in 2022? — and mix up different looks.

On the other hand, it’s difficult to look at what Kelce and the Chiefs did in Week 1 and not feel inspired. The opportunity to double down on that brilliant opener won’t be a long wait, as they prepare for a potential Thursday night thriller against the Los Angeles Chargers. With another strong performance, Kelce can once again tell those who said the decline was coming the same thing the Chiefs have told the rest of the challengers in the AFC West:

You might be better off trying again next year.