The Kansas City Chiefs haven’t had much good news lately, but Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce did receive some accolades for both is performance this season and his popularity, as he leads all plays in the fan voting for next year’s Pro Bowl, according to a story by Jayne Bardahl of The Athletic.
This is the second straight year in which he’s been the leading vote getter, and Kelce has earned it this year, although his season has also come with some noteworthy struggles. The tight end is having a bounce back season with 803 receiving yards, which ranks third among tight ends, according to Bardahl, and his 11.8 yards per catch is his best average since 2022.
The other players rounding out the top five to lead in the voting are Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and Bears safety Kevin Byard.
Team-wise, the Bears lead all teams in total fan votes received, which helps explain the Board selection, followed by the Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Chiefs and Detroit Lions.
Kelce’s Pro Bowl selection numbers are also impressive. Assuming he makes it, this will be his 11th Pro Bowl selection, which will tie him with former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten for second all-time among tight ends.
Not surprisingly, though, Kelce hasn’t actually played in most of these things due to his ongoing postseason commitments with the Chiefs. Last year he was replaced by Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith while Kelce prepped for the Super Bowl.
This year he’ll be free and clear to play with the Chiefs eliminated from playoff contention and on their way to their first losing season in over a decade, and if this is the end for Kelce, it would be a fun sendoff.
Kelce has been dodging the aftermath of some supposedly inadvertent hints he dropped about retirement, and last week he told reporters, “I think I’d rather just keep the focus of the media and everything on this team right now. … All the conversations that I have with the team and everything moving forward will be with them.”
The Pro Bowl will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, as the league has moved the games to Super Bowl week to help increase fan and player engagement. A full reveal of both rosters happens tomorrow morning at 10 AM EST.