Buccaneers must stop these 5 high-powered Chiefs offensive players

No. 2: Tight End Travis Kelce

While there might be some argument about which tight end is the NFL’s best right now, either between Travis Kelce or the 49ers’ George Kittle, one thing is undisputable.

No one can pick up more yards than Kelce. His 1,416 regular-season receiving yards in 2020 set a new record for tight ends in a single year, and he already broke Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski’s 2012 record when the latter was with the Patriots, only to see Kelce lose it to Kittle a few hours later.

All that is in the past, however, and there are other reasons why Tampa Bay has to be worried about Kelce’s presence on the field.

For starters, it almost seems automatic Kelce gets open when defenses play in zone coverage, and it’s often by a wide margin. No doubt, a good chunk of those 1,400-plus yards came in these situations, and there were plenty of examples during the AFC Championship game, too.

As far as giving up yards to tight ends during the regular season, the Bucs were in the middle of the pack, having allowed 832 yards total to this position.

But there’s a glaring stat to be worried about. While the yardage allowed itself wasn’t terrible, Tampa Bay surrendered 13 touchdowns to tight ends during the regular season, which was second most only behind the lowly NY Jets.

Considering Kelce’s 11 regular-season touchdowns, this is a problem the Buccaneers have to worry about.