The genesis of the stats was a shade less dynamic - lower catch rate, lower YPC - but Kelce still pushed over that magic 1,000-yard plateau and posted his best touchdown season. In other words, he finally learned how to click with Alex Smith, Mr. Conservative. Alas, Mr. Smith is now gone to Washington, and Kelce needs to learn how to play with Patrick Mahomes, a high-pedigree, low-experience second-year quarterback. We suspect Kelce can succeed in any environment, but it also makes you curious to see how the Chiefs click this preseason. Will they continue to push the ball downfield as they did last season, contrary to previous seasons? Or will coach Andy Reid revert to protect-the-ball, dink-and-dunk? Kelce also has to share a little more, as the Chiefs have another mouth to feed in the offense - freshly acquired Sammy Watkins. And still, there have been only 43 tight-end seasons of 1,000 yards in NFL history and Kelce has two of them. Maybe the quarterback simply doesn't matter. At 6-5, 260, Kelce is no match for defensive backs, and he's a playmaker in the open field with speed and elusiveness. Kelce's 2013 season was wiped out by a knee injury, but he's only missed one start since. If you don't like the running backs and wide receivers you're faced with in the early rounds, a pivot to Kelce is always a reasonable alternative. Read Past Outlooks