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Will He Or Won't He?
Kendall and Ronis debate whether Travis Kelce should hang it up
 | Feb. 21, 2025 |
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Travis Kelce may seem to have it all. Three Super Bowl rings. He’s in the inner circle of best tight ends in NFL history. Rock star girlfriend. A monster hit podcast with his brother Jason. Yet questions abound about his future. Will he go ring chasing with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs? Will he retire to a jet-Swift lifestyle and a host of media and entertainment opportunities? The NFL world wants to know. Kendall and Ronis discuss … |  Kendall Valenzuela & Adam Ronis |
Adam: The storybook ending doesn’t happen most of the time. It might have been an easier decision for Travis Kelce to retire if the Chiefs made history and won three straight Super Bowls. Even with the loss to Philadelphia, Kelce should retire.
Kelce said he will take some time to decide if he will play, which means he’s already considered it. He wasn’t the same player last season. It was supposed to be a different Kelce once the postseason started. He had 7 catches for 117 yards and a TD against the Texans. So, is it that easy to flip the switch? Apparently not. Kelce had 6 catches for 58 yards combined against the Bills and Eagles.
The Chiefs have given Kelce until March 15 to make a decision. Kelce is going to the Hall of Fame, and is one of the best tight ends of all time. There’s nothing left to prove. He’s 35, is dating Taylor Swift and can make more money outside of football.
Kelce has played at least 15 games in 11 consecutive seasons and with all the playoff games and deep runs into February, there’s more wear and tear and it’s showing. Kelce had a career low in yards (823), yards per reception (8.5), and TDs (3). He should enjoy his life, stay healthy, and make major money.
It’s always great to go out on top. I was debating retiring after Fantasy Life won the FSGA award for Best Audio show, but Kendall threatened me with a lifetime supply of Folgers coffee and I quickly changed my mind. Retirement is off the table.
Kendall: I think if the question is "should Travis Kelce retire," the answer for a lot of people will be yes. For me, I believe he has one more season to go. Like Adam said above, the dropoff has been blatantly obvious, but beyond the numbers it has also been the clear lack of chemistry with Patrick Mahomes. Those two for the longest time could extend drives and almost read each other's minds, but that cheatcode (especially in 2024) was just not there.
He is definitely a Hall of Famer and has three Super Bowl rings to his name, but the way this last Super Bowl went against the Eagles may have left a bad taste in his mouth. Like I said, will I be surprised if he calls it quits? Absolutely not, but it'll be understandable why he would want to give it another go.
Like Peter Overzet has said before, I am more than likely out on Kelce at his current cost. He's the TE7 with an ADP of 92.8 on Underdog, but we have seen just how far he has fallen over these last few seasons. I think he comes back for one more to try and rides off into the sunset. But if he doesn't? I'm sure his millions of commercials and eventual analyst job on some network will keep us locked in on the Kelce brothers, lol.
The latest analysis and insights from our merry band of football nerds:
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🧀 Are the Packers a WR1 away from taking a leap with Jordan Love?
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Fantasy Life took home some hardware from FSGA. Pretty good, huh?
🍻 Matthew had a pretty good week, too. And Fantasy Football Happy Hour.
👑 Zack Martin called it a career, and Ian added a bit of perspective.
🤯 Another peek at the Rookie Super Model. Ashton Jeanty is how good?
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Best Ball Draft Trends: Avoid The Zeros
By Pete Overzet
Kendall and Ronis here. We know it’s been 12 days since the Super Bowl, and if you’re reading this, you’re probably missing drafting. Well, Pete has the answer for you. Underdog has launched pre-NFL Draft Best Ball tournaments to satisfy that draft hunger. What are some strategies to follow to have a successful draft? Pete has five of them. Here’s one, and make sure to click below to get the full article.
Avoid Zeros
It might seem obvious, but the biggest advantage for a best ball team that makes it to the Week 17 finals is to have a fully active roster with no dead roster spots.
It is the single biggest driver of expected value (h/t Mike Leone's original Best Ball Manifesto).
Of course, some of these variables are impossible to control. There is simply no way to forecast injuries. We can't even do this one week in advance, much less 10 months in advance.
But there are things we can do to avoid zeros, which mainly include not taking on unnecessary risk.
Omarion Hampton’s Ride From High School Injury To One Of The Top RBs In The NFL Draft
By Thor Nystrom
Omarion Hampton could really help his case with a big NFL Combine later this month. If you believe his college coach, that’s exactly what’s coming: “He’s got 4.4 speed at 220 pounds, and that’s freakish,” former UNC HC Mack Brown said.
Hampton reminds me of former Saints RB Deuce McAllister, who measured into his NFL Combine at 6-foot-1/222 pounds and ran a 4.41 40 with an 83rd-percentile vertical jump. One NFL scouting service listed Hampton’s 40 at 4.44 over the summer (eyeballing from tape, I’d peg high-4.4s).
Hampton has the same upright running style as McAllister, with similar foot speed between the tackles. He has the same ability to contort and slither through creases into space.
Hampton is a hard-charging north/south runner who does not mess around behind the line of scrimmage. It’s an aggressive ethos—particularly for the zone-blocking system that he played in at North Carolina—that has its positives and negatives.
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