• No signs of decline for Travis Kelce in the playoffs: His 90.7 PFF receiving grade ranks second among 74 qualifying players over the last three playoffs.
• Elite production in the playoffs: Kelce's 2.53 receiving yards per route run in the playoffs since 2022 matches Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson‘s in the regular season.
• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF's best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Even though he had been written off by many people during the regular season, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was back to his best during the divisional round matchup against the Houston Texans. Kelce earned a 91.1 PFF receiving grade, which led all players this past weekend. He recorded seven receptions for 117 receiving yards and a touchdown, highlighting once again how he is on another level compared to all other tight ends in the playoffs.
Since Patrick Mahomes took over as the Chiefs' starting quarterback in 2018, Kelce has 1,727 receiving yards in the playoffs – Tyreek Hill is the only other player to also earn more than 1,000, as the former Chiefs wide receiver has 1,098. Furthermore, Kelce has caught 19 touchdowns in the playoffs since 2018 while no other player has more than six.
These are somewhat expected because he also played considerably more snaps than any other receiving option due to Kansas City’s successful seasons. However, looking at more advanced metrics also proves Kelce to be the best. For example, his 91.9 PFF receiving grade in the playoffs over the last seven seasons leads all 92 players who have run at least 100 routes in the playoffs over that period. In addition, his 2.41 receiving yards per route run rank eighth among these 92 players; however, he leads all tight ends, Cameron Brate is a distant second with his 1.83 receiving yards per route run. The 0.58 gap between Kelce and Brate is the equivalent of the gap between the second-ranked Brate and 15th-ranked Gerald Everett.
Some could say that Kelce's first couple of seasons skew his stats when looking at his entire time with Mahomes; however, even over the last three seasons – the time the Chiefs have not lost a playoff game – he has been dominant. His 90.7 PFF receiving grade trails only Nico Collins among 74 qualifying players, and his 2.53 receiving yards per route run leads all tight ends by a significant margin and trails only Romeo Doubs, Puka Nacua, Terry McLaurin and Collins.
While it's hard for others to replicate regular season success in the playoffs, Kelce is not only doing that but is taking his game to another level. Compared to his 2.53 receiving yards per route run in the playoffs over the last three years, he recorded only 1.88 receiving yards per route run over the last three regular seasons – which still ranks second among tight ends over that time span. In fact, his mark for the playoffs would be tied for the fourth among all receivers over the last three regular seasons. The player he would be tied with? Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, which suggests that Kelce in the playoffs is essentially as efficient on his routes as Jefferson is in the regular season.
If Kansas City’s star tight end can bring his A-game twice more this season then the Chiefs could accomplish the historic threepeat that they are pursuing this season.
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