Travis Kelce just won Super Bowl LVIII as the Chiefs beat the 49ers 25-22 in overtime, and the star tight end announced he has no plans to retire. Kelce, 34, has a lofty goal for why he's coming back for the 2024 campaign.
"Hell yeah," Kelce said. "I want that three-peat."
Kansas City has won the past two Super Bowls, and the Chiefs would be the first team in NFL history to win three titles in a row if they were successful next season. If that were to happen, we hope Kelce has a big hand in making it come true.
With Kelce back, the tight end position for 2024 is in great shape. Even though he had a down season in 2023 -- he failed to gain 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since 2015, and his 14.1 PPR points per game was his lowest average since 2016 -- he's still a force at the position. And he had a monster postseason with 32 catches for 355 yards and three touchdowns on 37 targets in four games.
Kelce's return will give Fantasy managers a tough decision to make on Draft Day this summer. With the emergence of young tight ends like Sam LaPorta and Trey McBride in 2023, is Kelce still the No. 1 Fantasy tight end?
For me, I'm going with LaPorta as the No. 1 tight end, and he was fantastic as a rookie. He had 86 catches for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns on 120 targets in the regular season, and he followed that up with 21 catches for 176 yards and a touchdown on 27 targets in three playoff games.
"I just learned a lot about myself and what it takes to compete at this level," LaPorta said at the Pro Bowl. "It was great. Many years to come, hopefully. To compete at this level is difficult. You have to be hard on yourself and realize you don't win every battle."
We released our first top-12 tight end PPR rankings right after the regular season, and I originally had LaPorta first, McBride second and Kelce third. Following the Super Bowl and Kelce's playoff performance, I'll put Kelce at the No. 2 spot, just ahead of McBride.
While his age is a factor, and we don't know what the Chiefs will do this offseason to enhance their receiving corps, Kelce is still capable of posting standout stats. And even in a down year, he still tied T.J. Hockenson for first in PPR points per game (14.1).
As for McBride, he took off once Zach Ertz left the Cardinals, and McBride averaged 14.9 PPR points per game in the final 10 games as the No. 1 tight end in Arizona. We'll see who the Cardinals add at wide receiver this offseason, but McBride could easily be the No. 1 target for Kyler Murray, who should improve in the second year after his torn ACL in 2022.
It's a fun trio at the top, but the good news is those guys aren't alone. Mark Andrews is still awesome and will return at 100 percent after last year's ankle injury. I'm excited about Dalton Kincaid in his sophomore season, especially with changes coming in Buffalo's receiving corps. Evan Engram just finished fourth in the NFL with 114 receptions, and he told me at the Pro Bowl he can be even better in 2024.
"I want it to be better," said Engram, who had 963 receiving yards and four touchdowns. "But I'm definitely really proud of the work I put together and just hope to be more consistent next year."
Engram also said he can do a better job helping Trevor Lawrence next season.
"Just continue to develop with him," Engram said. "I could be better. I could make more plays. More communication. More time in the film room. More reps in OTAs in the spring and the summer. We have to protect him and be better up front in the protection, and tight ends are a big part of that. The list goes on. We all have to get to work, and we'll figure it out."
Along with Engram, other veteran tight ends who played well in 2023 and should excel in 2024 include George Kittle and David Njoku. And we hope Hockenson (knee) will be ready for training camp, which will make this position even stronger for Fantasy managers.
Kyle Pitts could be in store for a bounce-back season with a new offense and hopefully a new quarterback in Atlanta. And other tight ends who are potential Fantasy starters include Cole Kmet, Jake Ferguson, Luke Musgrave, Dallas Goedert, Dalton Schultz and Darren Waller.
We also have one of the top incoming rookies in this year's NFL Draft in Brock Bowers from Georgia, and he could become an immediate Fantasy star with the right team. Finally, it feels like there's a lot of depth at tight end for Fantasy managers.
"The position is very dynamic," Engram said. "These guys are coming into the league and raising the price as well, which is really cool for the position. It's a great position for this sport. We're asked to do a lot. A lot is on your plate. We're responsible for a lot of the success on the team. A lot of the guys here, we take a lot of pride in being a great tight end."
There's the potential for a lot of great tight ends this season, especially with Kelce back. And you don't have to draft one until Round 3 at the earliest.
We'll see if LaPorta moves past Kelce for the No. 1 spot, but you're going to have some great values later in the draft. It's going to be fun to draft tight ends in 2024.
