Was Travis Kelce’s fall from the overall TE1 spot in fantasy football greatly exaggerated? After leaving fantasy managers with an awful taste in their mouths in the weeks following the Chiefs’ Week 10 bye, there were legitimate questions about whether we had seen the end of Travis Kelce as we knew him. While those questions definitely still remain and he’s likely ceded his title as the dynasty and redraft TE1 (or at the very least as a first round pick in fantasy football in 2024), his performances in three playoff games have offered a glimmer of hope for him heading into 2024 and with the big game yet to play.
From Weeks 11-17, Travis Kelce was averaging just 11 PPR points per game and scored just one touchdown in that time span, a Week 11 touchdown against the Eagles’ porous secondary. That meager production came on just 19% target share and 22% air yards share and featured three straight single-digit fantasy performances in the biggest games of the year: the fantasy playoffs.
The NFL playoffs, though, have been a completely different story. After spending the second half of the season in hypersleep, Kelce broke into the playoffs reinvigorated. Over the past three games, Kelce has averaged a 30% target share, a 33% air yards share, and 23 PPR points per game while reeling in four touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes. He hasn’t had fewer than 70 yards receiving in a single playoff game this season, and had his first 100-yard game in the AFC championship since Week 7 against the Chargers.