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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been a fantasy football superstar over the past seven seasons. Is he worth a top-five overall pick in 2023 fantasy football drafts?
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been a fantasy football superstar over the past seven seasons. During that span, he has finished as the highest-scoring tight end six times (2016-2020) and as the TE2 in 2021 behind Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews.
Kelce should be a high pick again in fantasy football drafts, given his recent success. The Chiefs also didn't sign any big-name wide receivers to compete with the tight end for targets, which paves the way for another TE1 finish for the veteran.
Is Kelce worth a top-five overall pick in fantasy football drafts? Let's take a look.
Travis Kelce 2022 Season
At age 33, Kelce put together arguably his best NFL season in 2022. The All-Pro tight end secured a career-high 110 catches for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns. Those numbers helped him finish with 316.3 PPR fantasy points as the TE1 – 100.9 points higher than T.J. Hockenson, who finished as the TE2 last season.
Kelce's 2022 season was a historic fantasy year. He averaged 18.6 PPR fantasy points and scored 20-plus points in seven games. No other tight end had more than four such games. He also saw an insane 24.9% target share and led the Chiefs' high-powered offense with 152 targets.
Kelce's 316.3 PPR fantasy points in 2022 were the second-most fantasy points in a season from a tight end, only trailing Rob Gronkowski's 330.9 fantasy points in 2011. The 33-year-old tight end also finished fifth overall among all fantasy pass catchers last season behind Justin Jefferson (368.7), Tyreek Hill (341.2), Davante Adams (335.5), and Stefon Diggs (321.2).
Is Travis Kelce A Top-Five Overall Pick In 2023 Fantasy Football Drafts?
The answer is absolutely yes. There was not a bigger positional difference than at tight end last season. Kelce outscored the TE6 Tyler Higbee by 164.3 points. To put it into context, the WR1 only outscored the WR6 by 69.1 points, and the RB1 outscored the RB6 by 91.3 points.
In a weak position group, it pays off to spend an early-round pick on Kelce. He's on the best offense in football with Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback. Teams haven't been able to stop the All-Pro tight end, and he'll continue to put up great fantasy numbers this season.
Only seven non-quarterbacks outscored Kelce in 2022, the four wide receivers above, Austin Ekeler, Christian McCaffrey, and Josh Jacobs. The Chiefs' tight end is a cheat code with one of the highest floors among all first-round fantasy players. He's a safe pick and should be a top-five selection in 2023 fantasy football drafts.
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