OVERVIEW
In high school, Kelce was a three sport star, but his best sport was always football. He was a three-year letter winner at quarterback, and earned All-Lake Erie League honors after totaling 2,539 yards of total offense and 31 total touchdowns as a senior. Kelce’s uncle Don Blalock played football at Purdue and grandfather Don Blalock played football at Ohio. Travis is the younger brother of former Cincinnati Bearcats and current Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
In his first year on campus, Travis redshirted. In his redshirt freshman year, Kelce participated in 11 games as the tight end. He caught one pass for three yards. Kelce also played some quarterback, strictly in a Wildcat role. He logged eight carries for 47 yards and two touchdowns. Kelce did not play in 2010, as he was suspended for a violation of team rules. Upon his return in 2011, Kelce caught 13 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. In his senior season, Kelce put himself on the NFL prospect map, as he caught 45 passes for 722 yards and eight touchdowns. He was selected to the All-Big East first team for his play.
ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS Kelce has an ideal tight end frame. Athletic for his size, with great strength, and the ability to stretch the field vertically. Very physical run blocker, generates power from the lower half, and will move defenders off the ball. Plays with leverage. Wide catching radius, can adjust and make the difficult catch. Tough to bring down after the catch. Light feet, and has lined up in numerous different positions.
WEAKNESSES Suspended for an entire season for violating team rules. Only one season of production. Doesn't have blazing speed. Not a tremendously explosive athlete. Doesn't come out of his breaks all that well.
NFL COMPARISON Rob Gronkowski
BOTTOM LINE Kelce has been a tremendous run blocker throughout his career for the Bearcats, but really elevated his game as a receiver in his senior season. He isn't a tremendous athlete, but he does a lot of things very well. It's a deep tight end class, but Kelce's play suggests that he should be highly sought after. [Reply]
I fucking hate these bumps. Oh look....you didn't like the pick or thought he wasn't a great player....and look at him now! You're wrong about everything!
Should we bump the thread for every other player that busts and talk shit to the people who thought they were the greatest thing ever? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pestilence:
I fucking hate these bumps. Oh look....you didn't like the pick or thought he wasn't a great player....and look at him now! You're wrong about everything!
Should we bump the thread for every other player that busts and talk shit to the people who thought they were the greatest thing ever?
These bumps aren't about what you've posted, they're about the typical dipshittery that goes along with the typical knee-jerk reactions.
Welcome to the first installment of “Settle This.” How it works: You send a topic about which you and a buddy are arguing about, or maybe a subject you don’t quite understand, and I go diving into the film to find your answer.
There’s no agenda here, I only go where the film and/or numbers send me. During my career I’ve taken a lot of pride in not being swayed by sentiment or emotion, and just giving readers my opinion, presented as straight as possible. Yeah, I can be a downer sometimes (some Boston Globe readers dubbed me the “Wet Blanket of Reason” during my time there), but I feel it’s my duty to give you the straight answer, whether it’s what you want to hear or not.
This can only work with your input, so please, if you and a friend almost came to blows during a game on Sunday, send me the topic at talkback@themmqb.com and let me settle it for you.
Travis Kelce is the top receiver on the Chiefs. He’s having a great year for a tight end, a blossoming superstar who can seemingly do everything in the passing game… and yet he plays only half the offensive snaps every game. Why does Anthony Fasano start over him? Is Fasano THAT MUCH better at blocking? Or just better at catching while seated on his rear
Thanks,
Jake
Didn’t understand that last line until I watched the film (Fasano’s touchdown from his butt against the Jets), but well played.
The short answer is yes, Fasano is that much better of a blocker. He’s one of the better two-way tight ends in the league, and the Chiefs are a run-first team that also uses a fullback (another guy Kelce is losing his snaps to), so Fasano is the man for the foreseeable future.
I wouldn’t say Kelce is a terrible blocker, but remember that he originally went to the University of Cincinnati as a quarterback, and even after the switch to tight end, the Bearcats aren’t exactly an I-formation team. You can tell a lot about how a team views a player by how they use him. When he’s inline, Kelce is basically window dressing. The Chiefs don’t run behind him very often. He’s basically a big receiver, playing the slot on third downs and in the red zone. From watching him on film, Kelce’s got a ways to go as far as understanding blocking assignments and leverage, but he’s certainly far from a lost cause. He’ll get stronger and refine his technique in due course. Not sure where the pre-draft comparisons to Rob Gronkowski, Jason Witten and Jeremy Shockey came from though. He doesn’t hold a candle to those guys in terms of blocking. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0:
He's the exact same guy as Gronkowski. How funny is that?
That's true size-wise, pretty much, and based on what I've seen, Kelce is looking very good, but honestly, WHEN HEALTHY, Gronk is the best TE I've ever seen in my life. He's completely ridiculous. He's also a great blocker (less so this year than in prior years, but we'll see if that comes around as he continues to get healthier), so I wouldn't go completely nuts with those comparisons just yet. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Does this place have a reaction to anything the Chiefs do anymore other than "OMG WHY ARE THEY THE STUPIDEST FRANCHISE EVAR??///1/1????"
Originally Posted by Bump:
is it not valid to say that?
Originally Posted by DaFace:
It's old. It's tired. It's not insightful. And no, it's certainly not a given by anyone outside this place that it's valid.
Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower:
Can you defend taking a 2nd/3rd string TE with a top 100 pick with huuuuuuuuuge holes elsewhere on the roster?
Originally Posted by DaFace:
OMG THE CHIEFS ARE SO STUPID FOR TRYING TO WIN NOW WITH ALEX SMITH!!!
(Chiefs take the best player available)
OMG THE CHIEFS ARE SO STUPID FOR NOT DRAFTING TO FILL AN IMMEDIATE NEED!!!
My issue is that ChiefsPlanet's value as a source for good Chiefs news and discussion is rapidly falling. It's nothing but bitching and unsubstantiated posturing anymore.
Anyway, carry on with the bitching. People seem to love it I guess.
Originally Posted by Amnorix:
That's true size-wise, pretty much, and based on what I've seen, Kelce is looking very good, but honestly, WHEN HEALTHY, Gronk is the best TE I've ever seen in my life. He's completely ridiculous. He's also a great blocker (less so this year than in prior years, but we'll see if that comes around as he continues to get healthier), so I wouldn't go completely nuts with those comparisons just yet.
I think Graham, Tony G and Gates were all better. [Reply]
