SportsEthos 2026 Fantasy Football Draft Guide

To Kelce or not to Kelce?

By Jacob Dunne Published July 26, 2024 Updated June 17, 2025 2 min read

Welcome to our article, “To Kelce or Not to Kelce.” For the past decade, Travis Kelce has been a dominant force in fantasy football, consistently outperforming his peers and providing unparalleled production at the tight end position. However, as he turns 34 and approaches 35 in October, questions arise about his reliability moving forward. Is he still worth his current ADP? Can we trust him to stay healthy after dealing with injuries last year? And should we consider passing on him for players being drafted around him? In this article, we’ll explore these questions and help you decide whether to draft or pass on the legendary tight end in your upcoming fantasy football season.

Before last year’s “mediocre” season, where he produced 984 yards on 93 catches and five touchdowns, Kelce was averaging a mind-blowing 1,229.6 yards on 96.4 receptions and 8.4 touchdowns over the previous seven seasons. This level of production is complete and utter domination like we have never seen before. The Cincinnati product hasn’t played fewer than 15 games since his rookie year in 2013. His durability has been a huge factor in his consistently high ADP, always in the first or second round. Additionally, the scarcity of quality fantasy tight ends incentivizes fantasy managers to invest in Kelce early, securing a weekly positional advantage.

ADP (Average Draft Position)

Kelce is currently being taken No. 33 overall in Half-PPR leagues, which is the late third round in 12-team leagues. He’s being taken as the TE2 behind Sam LaPorta, who is 11 spots higher in ADP at No. 22 overall. Let’s take a look at some players being drafted around the future hall-of-famer. Here are the five players currently being drafted right before Kelce:


Want to get access to Jacob’s article? You’ll need to have a SportsEthos NFL FantasyPass membership. Click here to learn more and sign up!  

Click here to join us on Discord! And Follow us on Twitter by clicking here

Come join us at SportsEthos by filling out an application by clicking here

Fantasy Football Draft Guide

Turn this analysis into a complete draft-day edge.

Unlock every ranking, projection, sleeper, bust, strategy article, team preview and best ball tool you need to build a winning roster.

  • Expert rankings
  • Full projections
  • Sleepers and busts
  • Best ball strategy
  • Ongoing updates
Get the Draft Guide Instant access after purchase

SportsEthos Community

Stay connected all season

Join the community, follow SportsEthos and download the app for real-time fantasy football news, analysis and player updates.

Keep exploring

Continue through the Draft Guide

View the full Draft Guide