Tight End · Kansas City Chiefs
Travis Kelce — 2026 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis by Shawn Childs, from his 2026 guide — his words, unedited.
The case
- · A low-ceiling player who is swiftly playing through the final holes of his great NFL career. His resume speaks for itself. He needs 23 more catches to rank fifth all-time.
- · Only 13 touches across his last 48 starts in the regular season.
- · He comes off a 10-year low in targets (108), but Kelce had a rebound in his yards per catch (11.2 – 8.5 in 2024).
- · Despite his less-than-rosy outlook for 2026, only two tight ends (Trey McBride and Kyle Pitts) outscored him in PPR fantasy points (193.20) last season.
- · Kelce had a 5.9% impact ratio in 2025, but his floor (10.00 PPR fantasy points or higher) came in 52.9% of the time while playing three games without Patrick Mahomes.
Question marks
- · Has the mystique of the Chiefs’ offense left the building?
- · Kelce limped him four bust showings (1/8, 1/6, 5/36, and 3/12) across his final five starts in 2025.
- · He had six targets or fewer in 11 games.
Shawn's conclusion
I can’t dismiss that Kelce could score 180.00 PPR fantasy points in 2026, which would more than pay his bills for his current tight end rank and ADP. The overall tight end pool could be the best I’ve seen since playing in the high-stakes fantasy football market, so is your goal to find a player to beat expectations by a wide margin? Or buy a potential steady piece to the puzzle, with the hopes of gaining a fantasy edge at other positions? Kelce could be the Chiefs’ third option in the passing game this year if Xavier Worthy regains his late rookie season form.
More on Kelce
His 2023 season opened with a knee injury that sidelined him in Week 1 and appeared to sap his explosiveness over the next three games. He rediscovered his form in Weeks 6 and 7 before going relatively quiet over his final eight starts (39/401/1 on just 43 targets), with Kansas City eventually resting him in the regular-season finale. He saved his best for the playoffs, posting strong lines across four postseason games (7/71, 5/75/2, 11/116/1, and 9/93).
At age 34, Kelce still commanded 133 targets across 16 regular-season games, maintaining a solid catch rate of 72.9 percent. His yards per catch (8.5) fell well short of both his career average (12.5) and his prior season mark (10.6). He failed to eclipse 40 receiving yards in a single catch in any game, a threshold he had cleared twice a year in each of the previous four seasons. That decline also snapped his remarkable streak of seven consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns.
Kansas City funneled double-digit targets his way in six matchups, and he topped 20.00 PPR fantasy points four times. But the cracks showed in the postseason, where he managed just 2/19 and 4/39 in the final two games. He finished fifth among tight ends in PPR scoring with 196.40 points.
Last year, Kelce made bigger plays (11.2 YPC) but finished with his lowest catch total (76) since 2015. Despite his regression, he was the third-best tight end in PPR scoring (193.20), with two winning games (9/91/1 and 6/99/1). Kelce scored fewer than 10.00 fantasy points in eight matchups.
In his career, he ranks 23rd all-time in receiving yards (13,002) and 8th in catches (1,080). Kelce needs 23 catches to be the fifth-best player in the history of the NFL.
Get Shawn's full 2026 Draft Kit — free
Every breakdown like this one, plus his tiers, the top-200 cheat sheet, and how his 2025 season actually graded out. One email, instant download.