The Kansas City Chiefs will start their title defense with a home game against the Detroit Lions on Thursday night. Travis Kelce has dominated the headlines leading up to the game after suffering a bone bruise in his knee at practice.
While there's hope that Kelce can get the swelling down and make an appearance in Week 1, bone bruises can be painful and his status is questionable. Kelce led the Chiefs in receptions (110), receiving yards (1,338), and touchdowns (12) last season. He is Patrick Mahomes' favorite target and the pillar of Kansas City's No. 1 offense. His absence would be profoundly felt, even if only for a week.
The Chiefs are known for their offensive depth, however, as well as Mahomes' ability to consistently turn garbage into gold. If Kelce is forced to miss Week 1, there are several players on offense who stand to benefit. No player can replace Kelce's impact in its entirety, but there's a chance the Chiefs can piece together a similarly explosive offense with some classic Andy Reid ingenuity and a little Mahomes magic.
Here are three players to keep an eye on.
Chiefs player who could step up without Travis Kelce: Noah Gray
A fifth-round pick out of Duke in the 2021 NFL Draft, Noah Gray has appeared in every game for the Chiefs since his arrival. He doesn't get the same attention as Kelce at the tight end position, but Gray started eight games next to Kelce last season and he's a regular fixture in Andy Reid's offense, both as a blocker and as a pass-catcher.
While Gray's pass-catching duties are generally sparse, he's far from incompetent. He caught 28 of 34 targets last season for 299 yards and a touchdown. He even added a one-yard rushing touchdown, for good measure. He averages 10.7 yards per catch, so he's capable of legging out big gains.
Kelce makes several absurd catches over the middle of the field every game. Gray won't be a one-to-one replacement for Kelce, but he's a 6-foot-4, 240-pound target for Mahomes to fall back on if his favorite tight end is relegated to sideline duties. The Chiefs don't have the deepest WR room, so there's reason to believe Gray could get a healthy target share as Kelce's understudy.
Chiefs player who could step up without Travis Kelce: Skyy Moore
The Chiefs' shoddy WR room leaves ample room for a breakout season from second-year Skyy Moore. A second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Moore's target share was limited as a rookie — 22 receptions on 33 targets for 250 yards — but there are positive indicators. He averaged 11.4 yards per catch and has the speed to reel off sizable gains in an offense built around Mahomes' big-play inclinations.
NFL expert Peter King expressed a ton of confidence in Moore's sophomore leap due to the WR's offseason workout regimen, which included extensive reps with Mahomes.
"Each of the last two years, [the Chiefs] have had giant defections in the receiving corps," King told NBC Sports. "I'm very bullish on Moore. It's because in the offseason, Skyy Moore found out where is Mahomes working out, and he just went there. All the time."
The key to a QB's heart is familiarity and Moore made sure to get in Mahomes' good graces this summer. That boosted connection could yield a more fruitful role for Moore, which is only amplified if Kelce misses time.
Kansas City lost JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman, two of Mahomes' favorite WR targets, to free agency. Their replacements are Kadarius Toney, who is questionable for Week 1, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Moore is listed at No. 3 on the depth chart, but it's not hard to envision a path to a more prominent output — especially this week.
Chiefs player who could step up without Travis Kelce: Jerick McKinnon
Second-year RB Isiah Pacheco has planted his flag as the No. 1 option in Kansas City's backfield. If Kelce misses Week 1, there's a chance Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy pivot to the run game and embrace Pacheco's aggressive downhill style.
That said, it's more likely that Mahomes simply distributes his passes to different outlets. Jerick McKinnon has been with the Chiefs for two years, emerging as a quality change-of-pace back with an especially strong connection to Mahomes as a third down and red zone pass-catcher.
Kelce is the Chiefs' biggest weapon on third down — a catch-anything threat who can fight through contact for short gains or make acrobatic downfield snatches to move the chains under even the most improbable of circumstances. With Kelce removed from the equation, don't be surprised if McKinnon gets even more burn working out of the backfield and operating as a pressure relief valve for Mahomes near the line of scrimmage.
McKinnon caught 56 passes for 512 yards and nine touchdowns last season. He was right behind Kelce as Kansas City's most frequent end zone visitor. Pacheco has rightfully earned the spotlight as an explosive early-down workhorse, but McKinnon finishes drives. Mahomes can't lob every pass 50 yards downfield. If Kelce is out, expect McKinnon to receive a lot of the dirty work and potentially find paydirt in the process.
