The Kansas City Chiefs are seeking an offensive renaissance in the 2025 NFL season. They weren’t able to keep up with the Philadelphia Eagles in their 22-40 blowout loss in Super Bowl LIX, proving that they can’t just rely on defense and timely scoring from Patrick Mahomes and Co. to win at the highest level.

Furthermore, they’ve suffered quite a few losses on the defensive side of the ball, including the departures of Justin Reid and Tershawn Wharton. With that in mind, they won’t be able to lean on their D to carry them through this upcoming season the way they did in 2023 and 2024. They’re still set to have a solid unit around Chris Jones, including the return of defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, but Mahomes and the offense will have to bounce back somewhat if Kansas City means to continue its dominance of the AFC.

Thankfully, the Chiefs have the personnel necessary for a resurgence in the passing game. With a deep receiving corps featuring Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, and Jalen Royals, Mahomes has plenty of weapons at his disposal downfield. However, he might not be able to count on much production from his favorite target, Travis Kelce.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive struggles over the past two seasons can be tied directly to Travis Kelce’s decline. Pundits may want to blame Taylor Swift, but it could simply be a natural product of the tight end’s age, mileage, and the team’s overall efforts to scheme more toward ball-control and defense.

CBS Sports’ Dave Richards isn’t expecting a bounce-back season from Kelce in 2025, either:

“The Chiefs offense continues to evolve as they put an emphasis on attacking defenses downfield, meaning fewer targets for Kelce as a short-area security blanket for Mahomes. There’s also the worry of how many opportunities Kelce will get in the games Rashee Rice is active for — last season the tight end had 4, 3 and 5 targets in the three games Rice played in. That trend actually started in late 2023 when Rice started to pick up regular-season work and Kelce had seven or fewer targets in five of his final six in the regular season. It’s so weird putting Kelce on a bust list, but it’s totally warranted — he’s still of starting quality but must get picked at the right value.”

Richards pegged him as a target in the seventh or eighth rounds of fantasy drafts this year, a far cry from his former status as the league’s TE1. Kelce could certainly see some recovery of his production with the Chiefs’ renewed focus on offense, but he probably shouldn’t be drafted in any of the early rounds.