Travis Kelce Gives 2-Word Answer to Why He’s Always Wide Open
Patrick Mahomes gets a lot of well-deserved credit for buying time and slinging the ball to a receiver while under pressure. Many times, Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce is on the receiving end of those passes, and it’s not uncommon for the big guy to find himself wide open in the middle of the field.
How is it that a 6-foot-5 tight end who caught a career-high 110 passes this year is able to get so wide open? Kelce answered that question with two words.
Travis Kelce has established himself as the best tight end in the game
Kelce is the best tight end in the game today. He’s certainly put himself in the running to be considered the best ever at the position, and that’s coming from another great tight end, Tony Gonzalez.
“Travis has just been incredible,” Gonzalez told Sportscasting’s Luke Norris this week. “It’s been phenomenal to watch. He’s already established himself — well, a long time ago and not just this year — he’s established himself as one of the best to ever put on a pair of cleats at that position.
“But what he’s done with the position — it’s like a torch, you know. I took it from Shannon Sharpe, Ben Coates, and those guys. And me and Antonio Gates, and then Gronk takes it. And now Travis Kelce’s taken it, and it’s going to continue into this next generation — someone like Kyle Pitts down in Atlanta or Mark Andrews.”
Kelce just had his seventh straight season with better than 1,000 receiving yards. Outside of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Kelce is KC’s biggest offensive weapon. In 17 regular-season games this year, he was targeted 152 times, catching 110 passes for 1,338 yards and a career-high 12 touchdown receptions.
Kelce gives his simple answer to why he’s often wide open
Sure, it’s nice to have Mahomes throwing you the ball, but it can be frustrating as a Chiefs opponent to guard Kelce, who has made eight straight Pro Bowls. Teams know Kelce is Mahomes’ top target. They know he’s getting the ball, yet they can’t stop him.
Not only did Kelce average 6.5 catches per game, but for many of those receptions, he was wide open. How does a team’s No. 1 target get so wide open so often? Kelce addressed that question with two words — Andy Reid.
“Why am I always open? I say it all the time: Andy Reid, baby. Big Red,” Kelce said during a media session in preparation for the Super Bowl, per Pro Football Talk. “He can dial stuff up at the right time, create some things at the right time, and then on top of that everybody’s doing their jobs.”
Kelce admitted there are a lot of factors involved, but it’s Reid’s creative and timely play-calling that does the trick.
“It’s not just a me go out there and get open type play,” he said. “I’m sure you guys like to think that, but there’s a lot of madness to it, and there’s a lot of guys doing their jobs for the big picture. I’m fortunate that I’m playing here, for sure.”
