Travis Kelce Has Dropped an Alarming Amount of Passes in 2019
By Ryan Giglio
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When Rob Gronkowski retired after winning his third Super Bowl, Travis Kelce officially became the most physically gifted (and potentially the best) tight end in the NFL.
Paired with the reigning MVP at quarterback, Kelce is looking to be a key piece in a potential championship-winning team this season.
But before anyone gets ahead of themselves, Kelce needs to stop dropping so many passes.
Here's a look at the Travis Kelce maybe fumble. He definitely catches it, tucks it away and gets two feet down. Didn't make a football move and the refs say it's a drop. #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/UAQW415cPQ
— Mitchel Summers (@WIBWMitchel) October 7, 2019
Somehow, the 30-year-old is tied for the league lead with five drops this season. He only had seven drops all of last year.
While Kelce is still putting up great numbers, the stats indicate his drops may be a serious problem.
According to Pro Football Reference, Kelce's 2019 catch percentage (65.3) is down 3.4 percent from last season (68.7), and is over five percent lower than his career average (70.4).
His receptions per game is also down this year (5.3 from 6.4), while his drop percentage has more than doubled (10.2, from 4.7).
"I had way too many drops this year. That comes with more and more reps I get with Pat [Mahomes], since he does have unique way of throwing the ball..." -Travis Kelce. https://t.co/INKSIsFgu8
— Matt Conner (@MattConnerAA) July 5, 2019
Kelce revealed in July that he would like to become more sure-handed after dropping "way too many" passes last season (his words).
However, it's evident that Kelce has not accomplished that goal, and has in fact gotten worse at catching the ball.
Kansas City is in first place and is expected to cruise to a division title this year. But if the Chiefs want to get over the hump and play in February, Kelce no doubt needs to take his own advice and become way more reliable.