If you used a high fantasy football draft pick for a premium tight end in 2024, you might have regrets for addressing the starting position too early.
Sam LaPorta, Travis Kelce, and Mark Andrews were all ranked in the top-five tight ends for Half PPR redraft leagues. After three weeks in average tight end scoring, LaPorta is TE17, Kelce is TE27 and Andrews is TE33.
Only Trey McBride (TE6) and George Kittle (TE1) have lived up to their lofty rankings. But unfortunately, McBride was concussed for the Cardinals in Week 3, and Kittle missed the 49ers game against the Rams with a hamstring injury. LaPorta, playing opposite McBride for the Lions, suffered a sprained ankle.
Kelce in particular, however, has been most disappointing as the consensus preseason No. 2 tight end behind LaPorta. So what's wrong with Kelce and some of the other highly-drafted tight ends, and what should fantasy football managers do with them?
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What's wrong with Travis Kelce?
Rashee Rice has gotten off to a dominant start for Patrick Mahomes as the WR5 overall in average scoring. But with rookie Xavier Worthy at WR38 so far and Marquise "Hollywood" Brown not available, Kelce's numbers have made him unplayable.
Kelce, in three games, has caught only 8-of-12 targets for 69 yards and zero TDs. That's a typical single game for Kelce in the past. Consider in last year's AFC championship game and Super Bowl 58, Kelce combined for 20 catches on 21 targets for 209 yards and a TD.
Although there's some sense that Kelce is frustrated with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid in seeing a major dropoff in target share below 15 percent, Mahomes shared some optimism with reporters after Week 3's Sunday night game at the Falcons, in which Kelce had 4 catches for only 30 yards on 5 targets.
"It’s crazy because the respect factor teams have for Travis is unreal, and it’s well-deserved, We’re calling a lot of plays for Travis, and it’s like two or three (guys) are going to him."
Mahomes is enamored with Rice, who keeps separating all over the field and has become his new go-to guy. Worthy also is a shiny new toy who can make big plays. The Chiefs no longer have a void at wideout, where they can afford to not keep feeding Kelce ahead of him turning 35.
The double-teams are real, and his presence is helping Rice get wide open at times. With Rice becoming a tough individual matchup, there should be a shift to the coverage attention going more to the second-year wideout. At 24, Rice has become much more explosive than Kelce in running into his routes and after the catch.
Age and wear are becoming factors as the Chiefs are more in load manage mode with Kelce again to preserve for what they hope is another winning Super Bowl run. The Chiefs won't be forcing the ball in tough coverage spots, as Atlanta had just that with elite safeties Justin Simmons and Jessie Bates III.
WEEK 4 WAIVER WIRE ADVICE
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What should you do with Travis Kelce in fantasy football in Week 4 and beyond?
Kelce can still finish as a top-12 tight end, but he won't give fantasy managers the return on investment of TE1 or TE2 draft status like he previously has done every season with Mahomes. The touchdowns remain an issue from last season, and the target volume won't suddenly shoot up unless Rice is injured.
But the Chiefs have a great TE matchup with the Chargers in Week 4, one that Kelce has owned of late. Then come the Saints, who gave up a monster game to the Eagles' Dallas Goedert in Week 3. And then it's the 49ers, whom Kelce tore up in the Super Bowl, followed by the Raiders.
The Ravens, Bengals, and Falcons presented some coverage challenges for Kelce. That won't be the case in the next four games, and Rice's hot start should make the coverage shift, stat.
If you have Kelce, you would need trust he will start coming through as a reliable starter soon, and you cannot bench him. If you don't have Kelce, there's no better time than the present to buy low and get him in a trade while not giving up as much as you usually would. Sitting or trading Kelce now would then both be huge mistakes.
Check out more trade advice and buy-low, sell-high targets
What should you do with other underperforming tight ends?
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
Andrews had only one target against the Cowboys, a seven-season low, and was held without a catch from Lamar Jackson. He has an OK matchup at home vs. the Bills in Week 5, but it's by no means a get-well game. Unlike Kelce, he has a real tight end threat on his own team in Isaiah Likely on top of Zay Flowers and the wide receivers. Andrews has turned in two clunkers vs. Kansas City and Dallas but was fine vs. Las Vegas.
Advice: Hold him and keep starting him
Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
LaPorta has been seeing less looks with Jameson Williams emerging at wide receiver along with Amon-Ra St. Brown. LaPorta has 10 targets through three games, catching a total of 8 for 94 yards and 0 TDs after scoring 10 times as a rookie last season. Now he's dealing with a low ankle sprain that may keep him out of the Week 5 Monday night game vs. the Seahawks.
Advice: Hold him and keep starting him, or buy low in a trade for him
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
McBride was on fire for two weeks but was cooled down by the Lions, catching three balls for 25 yards on his six targets. He is also now battling a concussion and will need to clear protocol to play in Week 5, but he is a must start vs. the Commanders defense if he suits up.
Advice: Hold him and keep starting him, or sell high and trade him
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Kittle missed the Rams game with a hamstring injury, missing on a big chance to smash minus Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey. He has the potential now to finish as the TE1 in scoring this season, but he needs to get healthy.
Advice: Hold him, but keep a good backup on hand if he's not healthy enough to play this week
Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
He's TE9 on the year, but that has more to do with so many other tight ends struggling as well. He could have done a lot more vs. the Chiefs, settling for 2-for-59 on five targets that included a 50-yard catch and run that put him just short of scoring. He went 3-for-26 and a TD in Week 1 and then 3-for-20 in Week 2. He needs a little more volume from Kirk Cousins in relation to wide receivers Drake London and Darnell Mooney to have total trust.
Advice: Hold him, and keep playing him in hopes of receiving more high-leverage targets
Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
He's TE31 after two quiet weeks to open the season as he's taking a surprising back seat to James Cook and the younger, remixed wide receivers for Josh Allen. He has caught 5-of-6 combined targets in two games, but they have added up for 44 yards and no TDs with a low yards per reception for a potential athletic field-stretcher. The Bills need to get him going more downfield in Joe Brady's offense.
His usage may say he won't be a big scorer, but he could receive more volume from Allen to get the required targets to produce viable numbers. There is a great matchup for him coming up in Week 5 vs. the Ravens, so let's hope he gets going a little vs. the Jaguars on Monday night.
Advice: Hold him, and keep playing him, but you can bench him if he doesn't get going before Week 6
