Chiefs' Travis Kelce Takes Shocking Fall in ESPN's TE Rankings
Twelve years into his NFL career, and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is still considered to be among the best at his position.
However, it's clear that the 36-year-old Kelce isn't the caliber of player he used to be.
He totaled a career-low 823 yards and three touchdowns two seasons ago, and last year he posted a modest 76 catches, 851 yards, and five scores.
Kelce's seeming decline has been noticed by scouts, coaches, and NFL executives, and it was reflected in the major drop he saw in ESPN's offseason TE power rankings. Kelce ranked fifth in the rankings last year but fell all the way to No. 10 this year.
"He’s still the ageless wonder at the position," one NFC personnel evaluator told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "His elite route savvy, body control and instincts allow him to still compete at a high level, despite him getting up in age."
Some fans were arguing on social media there aren’t nine tight ends better than Kelce playing right now.
Prior to the drop-off in production, which some attribute to his starting a relationship with pop star Taylor Swift, who he's since married, Kelce was arguably the most dominant tight end in the game.
He had seven straight 1,000-yard seasons from 2016 to 2022, and he posted 80 or more catches in nine straight seasons from 2016 to 2024. Kelce's also made 11 Pro Bowls, been a four-time first-team All-Pro, a three-time second-team All-Pro, and he's won three Super Bowls during his career.
The full ESPN TE rankings are below:
- Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
- Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
- George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
- Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
- Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts
- Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
- Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
- Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
- Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
- Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
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This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 8:33 PM.