Film Room: Travis Kelce's promising talent, frustrating inconsistency

Everything about Travis Kelce is inconsistent. After his rookie season was wiped out by a torn left ACL, it's not a surprise he doesn't know everything about the tight end position. The only way he'll learn, though, is by playing. The Kansas City Chiefs haven't figured this out just yet.

Consider Kelce has played (13) and started (8) as many games this season as the New England Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski, who also came off a torn ACL from last season. But Gronkowski, according to Pro Football Focus, has played nearly 200 more snaps.

Consider Kelce has also played two more games than the Indianapolis Colts’ Dwayne Allen, but has three less touchdowns (4) and nearly 50 less snaps.

Overall, Kelce is averaging 40 snaps per game and has only played in 63 percent of the offense’s snaps this season despite the Chiefs’ receivers having not scored a single touchdown all year.

What the Chiefs like about Kelce is his duality. He strong-arms defensive ends on the edge and slices defenses after the catch. To the chagrin of many, he has blocked more than ran routes three times this season, and been close to doing it three other times. 

Kelce is a perfect fit for head coach Andy Reid’s West Coast Offense, particularly when used like he was in Week 14 against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals defense uses heavy doses of man coverage. They believe their defensive backs can erase threats in isolated coverage opposed to waiting in zone coverage. It leaves them vulnerable to stack and bunch formations, however, and, in particular, to inside-breaking routes.

On a second-and-4 in the first quarter, Kelce was in a plus-split outside the numbers until he motioned inside, just outside the slot. That brought in the Cardinals’ strong safety on the same side and forced him to stand behind a cornerback.

After three steps diagonally, Kelce flattened his route inside. The safety trailed him at his outside hip in off coverage, unable to come down and shove him in fear of colliding with another player. Kelce ran a shallow cross past the left hash, then the right. The safety was behind in coverage. Kelce extended his arms over his head and reached for a pass that led him downfield, where he curved past the first-down marker, stiff-armed the strong safety and hustled down the sideline before stepping out of bounds after 26 yards.

The Chiefs haven’t taken full advantage of these mismatches this season. Kelce can line up all over the field: in wide splits, short splits, tight splits. He should be used like Gronkowski or Jermichael Finley - when he was at his peak with the Green Bay Packers.

Finley used to be in the boundary, on the back-side of a Trips set, against a puny cornerback or slow linebacker, and the Packers would toss jump-balls to him. The Chiefs can do this more often.

With seven minutes to go in the third quarter, Kelce was at the far right of the field, in between the 30 and the sideline, one-on-one against a Cardinals cornerback.

He ran three steps forward and then slanted inside. The cornerback shuffled back onto his heels in off-coverage. Kelce widened his hands and bobbled the ball as he tried to catch it. It slipped up his arms and bounced off his chest as he was hit before he hugged it for a 10-yard catch.

It wasn’t the only pass Kelce fought with against the Cardinals. Earlier in the game, he ran a shallow cross left to right and the ball hit him right in the hands. When he looked downfield, it bounced off for his only drop of the game. His inconsistency has shown up in other games, too, when he’s dropped three other passes. He has one less this season, according to the Washington Post, than team leader and wide receiver Dwayne Bowe (5).

What's confusing about his easy drops is that he makes tough catches. He’s able to adjust to passes over his head or below his knees because he concentrates more in those situations. He’s not worried about running after the catch because his back is turned to the defense or he’s simply zoned in on the throw.

Perhaps this is why the Chiefs haven’t featured him more in their offense until the last four weeks. He never cracked more than 66 percent of snaps in a game through Week 10, but since then, he's played in at least 82 percent of snaps every game and is averaging 52 snaps a game. In return, when he ran 44 routes compared to 12 blocks against the Cardinals, according to Pro Football Focus, he had a career-high 110 receiving yards.

One of his most important catches came on a third-and-3 in the second quarter. Kelce was flexed on the formation’s left as a strong safety stood six yards in front.

He took three steps forward, covered the six-yard gap and turned around. It was a stick route. The safety was still backpedaling. When the throw came, Kelce leaned forward, bent his knees and extended his arms to capture the ball at his right knee while the safety was on his back and trying to poke the ball out.

When the next play started, Kelce lined up on the opposite side, flexed again. Suddenly he kicked his left leg back. A referee whistled no play. False start, offense, No. 87.