‘Still Awesome’ Chiefs’ Travis Kelce Falls in Top 10 Position Rankings originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a disappointing season by Chiefs standards last year, with a blowout 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl in February.

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The offense sputtered at times, and 10-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce didn’t have his best. year.

His 823 yards and three touchdowns were the lowest totals of his 12-year career since his rookie season in 2013, when he appeared in just one game and didn’t post any stats.

He continued his impressive stretch of 10 straight Pro Bowl nods, but might be just living on reputation at this point.

But an appearance at No. 5 in ESPN’s top 10 best tight ends ahead of the 2025 season says a lot, even after a disappointing season. Kelce fell from the No. 1 spot, where he was a season ago.

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The list was compiled by surveying NFL coaches, scouts and executives, and it was all put together by Jeremy Fowler.

“The back-to-back tight end king fell well short of first place after signs of decline surfaced in 2024,” Fowler wrote. “Most of that can be chalked up to age. Kelce turns 36 in October and has played nearly 200 games over 12 years, including playoffs. But several evaluators noted that Kelce played heavier last year, something he’s aiming to fix. He has slimmed down this offseason in preparation for what could be his final season.

“While a team source believes any weight issues did not affect his play dramatically, lack of explosive plays was a problem. His 8.5 yards per catch were a career low by a wide margin.”

Even showing signs of age didn’t deter one executive from including Kelce on his list.

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“For sure [he showed] signs of physical decline, but you still have to worry about him because he’s such a smart player with a great connection with the QB,” a veteran pro personnel evaluator said. “Just doesn’t get open like he used to.”

And the bottom line is that until Kelce stops being “awesome,” he’ll probably keep being included.

“He’s still awesome,” an NFC executive said of Kelce. “It might not look as exotic as he used to, but you still look up and he’s got nine for 70.”

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 11, 2025, where it first appeared.