Greatness and gravity; Travis Kelce affects the game in more ways than you realize

Taking a look at how the GOAT tight end affects the game almost every snap, even when he's not targeted.

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At a certain point, some players become so good at what they do and so different than those around them that it becomes difficult to describe them without seeming to dive into the apocryphal (sorry, I got a thesaurus and am trying stuff out).

Travis Kelce is one of those players. He’s so far beyond what any other tight end has done statistically that it’s not even worth comparing. He’s in a class by himself, more appropriately compared to the greatest wide receivers in history. He’s had nothing but year after year of complete dominance in a sport designed to prevent that very thing. And he’s done it in a style all his own.

I wrote earlier this year how Kelce’s route running is like having a jazz freestyler playing in the middle of an orchestra; His ability to see the field and adjust his movement accordingly on the fly is something unlike anyone I’ve ever seen in the NFL. He always knows when to run the play exactly as drawn up and when to break off his route and just run to (or stay put in) a spot defenders aren’t present to create space for his quarterback.

It’s a skill that sounds so simple, so basic, but no one else can do it the way he can because no one else sees the field the way he does. He’s so exceptional at reading defenses that he’s been seen pointing towards the open receiver to try and help his QB out (Mahomes had already seen it, of course, but it’s still hilarious).

It’s been long accepted that Kelce is one of the most impactful players in the league. But one thing that I think flies under the radar a bit (because it doesn’t show up in the box score) is just how impactful his presence on the field is even when he’s not targeted. That’s something that has jumped out on film during these particular playoffs, and it seems worth noting right now as the conversation about Kelce’s legacy and status as the GOAT tight end continues to evolve.

The short story is this; Kelce, just by being as un-coverable (not a real word, but it works here) as he is against both man and zone defenses, has a “gravity” to him that creates opportunities for those around him. That’s not unheard of for great wide receivers, but for a tight end? That’s a different story. Let’s take a look at a couple of snaps that demonstrate Kelce’s gravity and how it affects games.

We’ll start by going back to Kansas City’s first offensive drive of the playoffs. Facing 2nd and 8 on Miami’s 12-yard-line, Andy Reid dialed up a play designed to take advantage of the attention Kelce gets to hopefully free up rookie receiver Rashee Rice (that’s a lot of alliteration). And it works beautifully. There’s a lot to take in here, but Kelce starts off lined up right of the formation, with Rice on the other side. Watch how their movement is designed to mess with the defense.

Here’s how this works. Prior to the snap, Kelce motions at the line to see if there is any adjustment to his movement from the defense (helping ID man vs zone coverage, and also looking to get some inside leverage on the defender who is lined up across from him). He knows his route is going to take him over the middle of the field and right into the teeth of zone coverage.

In the meantime, Rice’s route is a crosser, taking him from left to right across the face of the defense as well. But crucially, his route is to take him UNDERNEATH Kelce’s route. This is to accomplish several things. If it’s man coverage, it’s designed to create a “rub” or “pick” (depending on who you’re talking to) that gets in the way of any defender who is following Rice across the field. Notice how not just Kelce, but the defender who picks him up, creates a natural barrier.

The other thing it accomplishes, and this is where Kelce being who he is comes into play, is to draw the eyes of the defense in the middle of the field and get them to collapse on the GOAT. And it makes sense that they would, no? After all, wouldn’t you try and focus on the guy who has more TD’s in the playoffs with his quarterback than any other QB/receiver duo in NFL history?

And it works perfectly. Look how the defense collapses on Kelce and leaves Rice (circled) wide open. This is as Mahomes is making his throw.

Four different defenders are surrounding Kelce while Rice is running wide open into space with no one near him. Other than an underneath linebacker (whom I’ve labeled as #3), no one is even LOOKING at Rice. That linebacker is trying to “pass off” Rice in coverage since Rice is running outside of that LB’s zone. And even if he tried to pursue Rice, Kelce’s route has taken him (and the defender I’ve labeled as #4) right into his path.

In other words, Kelce’s mere presence creates a wide open receiver in the red zone that gives the Chiefs an easy pitch-and-catch touchdown. It’s a good play design against this defense, but it’s Kelce’s gravity that creates such a wide open space.

There are multiple examples of this to be found in every Chiefs game, and their calls incorporate it knowing how defenses will play Kelce. And it also comes into play when giving space for easy checkdowns, like this one to Isiah Pacheco.

Kelce starts off right of the OL again, and Pacheco comes out of the backfield across the formation. Watch how (again) so many defenders are focusing on Kelce that they get themselves out of position. The Bills are playing a pretty basic zone look, and the short story is that their defender closest to the sideline has got to watch for receivers (or a running back) coming across the formation left to right.

But instead, he’s too busy pointing out where Kelce is going to the rest of the defense, and lets himself get sucked so far inside that the field becomes wide open on his boundary (sound familiar?). Here’s a screenshot as Mahomes releases the ball.

Pacheco is moving left to right towards the sideline, and the only two defenders who could have been in position to stop him have been dragged by Kelce’s gravity to the middle of the field. The end result is a big gain and the Chiefs having the ball near the 5-yard-line.

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Andy Reid understands that defenses are going to key on Kelce, and he dials up looks accordingly. This applies to both designed plays for a specific target (like the Rashee Rice TD above) and simply ensuring that he has a checkdown in place going towards the area of the field Kelce vacated (like the Pacheco gain). Neither of these are unique concepts, but they completely fool the defense because they can’t take their eyes off Kelce in time to see what is happening.

Reid also dials up looks to take advantage of the extra coverage that is designed to come Kelce’s way. A good example of this came on a chunk gain to Noah Gray against the Bills.

This one is a bit more complicated and it’s harder to follow Kelce through the physical coverage at the line, but the short story is that he’s breaking up the seam, threatening to move inside, then cutting out and up. Notice that the Bills have two defenders dedicated to Kelce here from the snap, inside and outside. It’s another zone look, but with a specific defender assigned to Kelce as well. Basically, the Bills are willing to cost themselves a coverage man in zone in order to account for Kelce.

And Reid knows that can happen. So he has Gray run to the middle of the field near where the linebacker covering Kelce would have been. And it helps create a huge void (along with another underneath defender biting on Pacheco’s route).

It’s the same basic concept as the others, only this time it’s not just Kelce drawing zone defenders’ eyes. It’s him drawing an entire extra defender his way, forcing the Bills to try and cover the whole field down a player. And it results in a nice gain for the Chiefs.

Kelce’s gravity is one of the things that the Chiefs’ offense is built around, in both play design and execution. It frees up space for other players and provides open spots on the field, even for something like a scramble (Mahomes’ “ball fake” scramble was in part possible because multiple defenders were converging on Kelce on the other side of the field). And it’s something that won’t show up in the stats sheet a single time. Because of that, people don’t appreciate enough what a game-swinging impact it can have.

And of course, when teams DON’T provide extra attention towards Kelce, it can be fatal. Reid will at times line up Kelce in the backfield to force teams to make a decision; Do they call an abnormal look to give Kelce extra attention, or do they utilize a standard man/zone/match look with him coming out of the backfield? If they choose the latter, it often ends up with a mismatch and Kelce being targeted for a big gain.

That’s the position Kelce puts teams in. They can’t play him with standard zone or man looks because he’s too good at separating from them. But if they give him extra attention, Reid and Mahomes will eventually make them pay by drawing up looks designed to exploit it. He’s as close to a one-man offensive scheme starter as anyone in the league, and that’s at 34 years old.

When people talk about how great Travis Kelce is, they’ll start with his historic production. And they should. But his gravity and the way an offense can be genuinely built around him is just as much what separates him from other tight ends (and most receivers). The fact that it doesn’t show up in the box score doesn’t make that impact any less real. And it’s part of the reason that he’s the greatest to ever do it.

We’ll see what Baltimore’s excellent (and excellently-coached) defense comes up with against Kelce and the Chiefs on Sunday. It should be a fun matchup to watch, as Reid hasn’t played against Mike MacDonald (the Ravens’ gifted defensive coordinator) yet. Then again, MacDonald has never faced a player like Kelce or matched up against Reid either as a DC. The chess match there could be determinative of the game’s outcome.

But in the meantime, it’s important to appreciate the gravity of Kelce and his snap-by-snap impact, created by his singular greatness. Here’s hoping we get to watch it a whole lot longer.