Who Should I Start? Travis Kelce or Austin Hooper

Sunday, April 12, 11:07 AM

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has cooled off slightly over the last three seasons, but he remains a high-end scoring fantasy option in fantasy football. After an impressive seven-year stretch in which he delivered six TE1 finishes and one TE2 finish, he has been the TE3, TE5, and TE3 over the last three years, respectively. His reception total dropped to 76 last season (his lowest mark since 2015), but he still mustered 851 yards and five touchdowns. Fantasy managers' biggest complaint was likely that he lacked consistency, ranking outside the top 16 fantasy tight ends in eight of his 17 games. He also took a major step backward near the end of the season; over his final five weeks, he ranked 35th among tight ends in fantasy points per game. Part of that was because Patrick Mahomes (knee) tore his ACL in Week 15, but it was a disappointing stretch nonetheless. Managers pursuing Kelce in redraft leagues next season will have to be okay with his high ceiling and low floor. The conversation in dynasty leagues is a little more complex. Kelce's new three-year deal with the Chiefs has two void years, so it's effectively a one-year deal that will let him retire after 2026. Assuming this is his last year in the league, managers should look to trade away Kelce for some sort of return this offseason.