The Chiefs' Tight Ends Are the Weak Link on Offense

Despite valiant efforts from Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and others, efforts that lifted a Kansas City offense stricken with injuries and poor play to a third straight AFC title, the wall came tumbling down in Super Bowl LIX once they faced a defense with firepower of their own.

The Chiefs this offseason rallied to reinforce their offensive line despite being forced to say goodbye to Joe Thuney while making several moves to reload on offense.

While Mahomes and company look fresh with yet another injection of young talent, it's becoming a clear reality that the tight end room, once seen as a source of strength from Kansas City, is now the weakest link on the offense.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently spoke about the tight end room.

"No, Travis Kelce didn’t reverse course on his retirement decision—he’s still playing," wrote Breer. However, how they use and pace him through the season is an open question. So Noah Gray, who got an extension last year, could get more work. Aaron Rodgers’s old buddy Robert Tonyan is there. And rookie Jake Briningstool is shaping up as a summer dark horse to carve out a role in the offense."

Father Time has caught up to Travis Kelce in a variety of ways. He's not the same playmaker he once was, and his strength now comes from being used situationally instead of relying on him for outright production.

Kelce's numbers were dramatically down in 2024 as it was the first time since 2015 that he played in 16 games while failing to record a 1,000-yard season.

Kelce will be 36 this October and is no longer the ax the Chiefs once had to knock down opponents, but instead is the scalpel to dissect defenses in clutch moments.

With that being said, how will the Chiefs make up for Kelce's production in the meantime? The return of Rashee Rice should help mightily, as well as an improved product from Xavier Worthy. Jalen Royals is a grossly underrated player out of Utah State, and Noah Gray is a veteran in the system.

The running back room should also be healthy and running at full strength.

However, the farther the ball must travel from a quarterback to a receiver, the less likely a play is to be successful. The magic about Kelce is that whatever passing play was called, Kelce essentially had an option to change the route on the fly based on coverage, and that led to Mahomes dinking and dunking the ball to back-to-back Super Bowls.

How do you replace that level of brain power and chemistry? While the Chiefs have an offense still in position to compete and dominate, 2025 may be the first time in his career that Mahomes may have to make it happen without Kelce always being around and open.