Oakland Raiders: Ranking The AFC West By Position Group – Tight Ends

1. Kansas City Chiefs

We’ll just lay this out up front – Kansas City’s tight ends group more or less begins and ends with Travis Kelce. Yeah, there are other guys on the roster with the “TE” after their names, but for all intents and purposes, Kelce is Kansas City’s tight ends group.

And make no mistake about it, he’s a good one. A very, very good one.

Last season, Kelce led the Chiefs in targets, receptions, and yards. He was very clearly, the focal point of the offense, quarterback Alex Smith‘s favorite target, and a force of nature. And yet, week in and week out, knowing that Smith would be going to Kelce – often – opposing defenses still couldn’t stop him.

For the year, Kelce nabbed 85 receptions for 1,125 yards and four touchdowns – on a 73 percent catch rate. He was, far and away, Kansas City’s most dynamic weapon last year. And with the release of deep threat Jeremy Maclin, he looks to be the focal point of Kansas City’s passing attack again.

Oh, Tyreek Hill is going to get some looks and see an increase in his role in the offense, but he’s more than likely going to absorb the looks Maclin was getting – meaning Kelce isn’t going to see much of a decrease, if at all, in his own looks.

Kansas City also has a couple of guys named Demetrius Harris and Gavin Escobar listed on their depth chart, but their targets are negligible.

Kansas City’s tight ends group comes down to a one-man wrecking crew named Travis Kelce. And until teams find a way to stop him, he is head and shoulders above the other tight ends in the AFC West.