Why has Travis Kelce played such a small role in the Chiefs’ offense?

Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are an inseparable duo. They are the very image of chemistry on the field. Or at least they were.

So far this season, the Kansas City Chiefs’ two stars have been out of sync.

Through two games, Kelce has just seven passes in his direction for four receptions and 39 yards. No touchdowns. That’s a strange stat for one of the best pass catchers in NFL history, who, by the way, had 11 receptions for 90 yards and two touchdowns in his first two games last season. (He sat out Week 1 in 2023 because of a knee injury.)

This year, the Chiefs are undefeated, with a pair of close games to open the season. And given all their recent Super Bowl wins despite their mixed success in the regular season, there’s always a sense that they’ll do just fine as long as Kelce and Mahomes are running the show.

But Kelce is currently an afterthought, leaving Mahomes somewhat alone.

And it’s not entirely clear why.

“He’ll get his catches,” coach Andy Reid said Monday of Kelce. “It’s not that he’s losing his rhythm or anything like that. That’s not what’s happening. It’s just that teams are focusing on him and they know he’s been Pat’s go-to guy. But what he’s done is he’s allowed us to utilize the other guys around him, and they’ve been productive.”

It’s not just Kelce’s lack of production on an individual level. That’s easily explained: They’re saving the veteran tight end, who turns 35 in October, for the end of the season.

The strange thing is that it is not just that he lacks production, but that his irregular presence has caused problems.

The offensive team’s EPA/play when Mahomes targets Kelce is an atrocious -.42, 73rd among tight ends. In 2022, that number was .37, which was second among tight ends, behind only George Kittle. And in 2022, it was .39, the highest among all tight ends. From 2014 to 2024, it was .42, a remarkable EPA/play.

That helps highlight how dismal Kelce’s numbers look for 2024.

Now, we’re obviously using a very small sample size, but the film confirms that something isn’t working with Kelce.

Two of Mahomes’ three interceptions came with Kelce as the primary receiver. On both passes, Mahomes appeared hesitant to throw the ball to Kelce, which proved costly for what should have been early passes for big plays. Instead, they were turnovers.

On Mahomes’ only interception against the Ravens in Week 1, he hesitated on a pass to an open Kelce before running off and throwing the ball to Rashee Rice while getting hit. The ball went right to Baltimore linebacker Roquan Smith.

“I probably should have thrown the ball to Trav. I tried to get a little greedy and get to Rashee and he was open,” Mahomes said after Week 1. “Just the way I tried to awkwardly throw the ball, I couldn’t get it done.”

On Mahomes’ first interception against the Bengals in Week 2, Kelce moved toward a soft spot in the zone. Mahomes stared him down and threw the ball late. And it was an easy recovery for Cincinnati’s defense. Reid said Kelce was running an option route, which led to a miscommunication between the QB and TE.

“There was a little mix-up between the two of us and we were late with the ball, so that’s what happened,” Reid said. “We’ll deal with that. I can deal with that part.”

The Chiefs haven’t exactly made the biggest effort to get Kelce involved. He’s not typically the primary play-maker, and as we’ve seen with the hesitations that led to the interceptions, those plays aren’t exactly leading the offense in the right direction.

As Reid said, it doesn’t look like Kelce has missed a beat. Instead, it looks like Kansas City is probably using him as a decoy. He’s often found on the opposite side of where the ball is supposed to go. A deep pass? Find him running. A jet sweep to the right? Find him near the left hash mark.

Mahomes has said that Kelce gets double-teamed a lot, and that’s true at times. But from what I’ve observed on film, he actually only gets double-teamed a few times per game.

“If you look at the first touchdown (against Cincinnati), I’m actually watching Trav and the backside safety go all the way down the field to help protect Travis, and then he throws the ball down the sideline to Rashee,” Mahomes said. “That’s what (defenses) have been doing.”

Mahomes later added: “As the season goes on, he’ll get his catches. He’ll get his yards.”

That’s more or less the same message as Reid’s: Be patient. Kelce will get more involved, but maybe not right away.

Since 2018, Kelce has played more snaps (6,523) than any other skill player in the NFL (including playoffs). He spoke openly during training camp. about how the past six seasons have affected his body. And during camp, his workload was extremely light. It seemed like most days were rest days for Kelce’s veteran.

But Mahomes and Reid are avoiding the obvious problem: Kelce’s presence has affected the unit’s efficiency. This use of half-court and half-court is leading to hesitation and turnovers by Mahomes.

Maybe the Chiefs don’t care. They’re 2-0, after all. Maybe they think they can get over this slump and turn things around late in the season. Because that’s what they always seem to do. But for now, it’s not working. And I wonder if their strange use (or lack thereof) of their best player might start to catch up with them.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

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