What Travis Kelce's Injury Means For Fantasy Football: Patrick Mahomes, Noah Gray, Jerick McKinnon, Kadarius Toney
Each day when there is big news across the NFL and fantasy football world we will be covering all the top headlines. Since the news never stops, that will be most days. Today's top headline is Travis Kecle's injury, and what that means for the superstar TE and the rest of the Chiefs in fantasy football.
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Travis Kelce Suffers a Knee Injury in Practice
This is the nightmare scenario. On Tuesday superstar tight end and fantasy first-round pick Travis Kelce suffered a knee injury in practice. putting his Week 1 availability in doubt. He reportedly hyper-extended his knee in a non-contact situation. With the Kansas City Chiefs kicking off the season on Thursday Night Football against the Detroit Lions, the injury puts him very much in doubt for the game due to the quick turnaround.
Initial reports have been positive for his long-term health. An MRI on Tuesday revealed that the ACL is intact and as of now the team doesn't believe this is something that will cost him a significant chunk of the season. We are still waiting on a further diagnosis that won't be fully determined until the swelling in his knee goes down. He did leave the field on his own power and fantasy managers are still holding out hope that he could play on Thursday. As of now, it looks like he has an outside shot of suiting up, however, he does appear to be on the wrong side of questionable. All we can do is hold our breath and wait for now until the team decides to give us a further update.
Being that there is a good chance fantasy investors and the defending Super Bowl Champions will be without their stud tight end in Week 1, we have to take a look at the impact it will have on fantasy football and the other players on the Chiefs.
Update. Kelce is officially out, which is not shocking considering this is still just Week 1 with a long season ahead.
Fantasy Outlook
QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Doubting the best player in the world is never a great idea. He does feel like Superman and I wouldn't bet against him overcoming any odds, no matter how high they are stacked against him. Nevertheless, this is as bad of news as he can get two days before his season starts. The Chiefs don't really have any other weapons in the passing attack that scare defenses. Mahomes relies on Kelce as much as any quarterback in the league relies on any one pass catcher. I'm still not benching Mahomes or anything crazy like that, but you may need to temper expectations a bit. He could be more of a mid-range QB1 this week rather than the unquestioned best fantasy option in the league.
TE Noah Gray, Kansas City Chiefs
Gray is the most obvious beneficiary of the Kelce injury. He's the direct backup to the injured tight end and would see a massive spike in playing time and volume should Kelce sit this one out. It's almost a guarantee you can find Gray on your waiver wire, so he is an easy pivot if you just want to add him and adjust your lineup accordingly once we get a final verdict of Kelce's availability. Don't expect him to finish as the TE1 like you would with Kelce, nonetheless, he's a serviceable option and has Mahomes throwing him the ball. Last season, he caught 28 passes for 299 yards and a TD. You could catch lightning in a bottle here, and Gray could save your fantasy week with a big game.
RB Jerick McKinnon, Kansas City Chiefs
McKinnon is another guy who could see a major uptick in his role should Kelce miss this one. The pass-catching running back could see more playing time and help in the short passing game to help ease some of the void left by Kelce's absence. In PPR leagues I would give him a boost in the rankings and he suddenly becomes an interesting flex option. The best part is, he could see an increase in volume without hurting the Chiefs' RB1 Isiah Pacheco, who will handle the bulk of the work on the ground.
WR Kadarius Toney, Kansas City Chiefs
Toney is reportedly fully recovered from his minor knee surgery earlier this summer and is good to go for Week 1. He is the wideout who should most benefit from Kelce being sidelined. This is the guy who would get all those gadget plays that usually go to Kelce. So often we see Kelce take shovel passes, quick dump-offs on fake end-arounds, and quick screens ... most of which result in TDs. Those plays would most likely now be going to Toney if they were going to go to a wide receiver. We would expect to see Toney in motion often and used all over the field. It's exactly what his skill set provides. There is also a chance that Skyy Moore, Rashee Rice or Justyn Ross see more looks as well, but Toney is most suited for Kelce's work.
