After another impressive showing from Travis Kelce, could he win the Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year award?
Hello again everyone and welcome to another week of the ArrowChop! This is the column where we look at the positives/negatives of a certain Chiefs/NFL issue and look at both sides of the aisle. Then you, the readers, will come to your conclusions after I lay out the case. So sit back, relax, and enjoy as we breakdown this week’s hot topic.
It’s time to talk about Travis Kelce, yet again, because someone brought up an interesting topic; that topic is for him to be dubbed offensive player of the year. Mahomes stated this on Twitter after a tough 22-16 win over the Broncos after Kelce had eight catches for 136 yards, and the Chiefs only touchdown of the night (Hill could have two, but I think he all know what happened there):
With that said, there has never been a tight end in the history of the OPOY’s existance that has won the award itself. Could Kelce pull away here and ACTUALLY win it, or could another spectacular player steal the crown from him?
Kelce will win the award
Stats are one of the main contributors to these awards and trust me when I write it as Kelce HAS these stats. At this moment, he is five yards away from being number one in receiving yards this season (Metcalf has 1,119 while Kelce has 1,114), which is unheard of for a tight end; moreover, he has the most receiving touchdowns this season for tight ends at eight, 92.8 yards per game (which among the highest this season), 13.6 yards per reception (t-3rd among tight ends), 4th-most receptions this season (82), and has 73.9% catch percentage. Tight ends can only dream of these types of stats, and Kelce has been exploding with it yearly!
Breaking records is another contributor for this award, and you’ve guessed it, Kelce has already done that, and is on pace to set another one. Kelce is the first tight end in NFL history to achieve five-straight 1,000-yard seasons in their entire career. This is an impeccable achievement that could put him on top of others vying for the award.
Also, he’s on pace to set the record for the most receiving yards by a tight end in NFL history! I discussed this last week in another article, asking if he could break the record this season, and it seems like he is. In four games, he needs 264 receiving yards to officially break the record, and since he’s averaging over 90 yards per game, he’s on pace to do just that. It’ll be yet another record-breaking season for him; moreover, it’ll be a year fans of the NFL will talk about for years to come.
Kelce won’t win the award
Well, there is a list of player’s that may be ahead of him for that title. That list includes but is not limited to:
- Dalvin Cook
- Aaron Rodgers
- Patrick Mahomes
- Josh Allen
- and possibly some others I may have missed…
The list I have isn’t in any unique order; it’s just to show the competition he is up against. Mahomes and Rodgers are undoubtedly the top-two in the MVP standings with their impressive seasons throughout the year, Josh Allen is an offensive beast that is tough to hold down for any defense, and Dalvin Cook is racking up insane numbers this year (1,250 rushing yards, 14 total touchdowns, 113.6 rushing yards per game, and five yards per rushing attempt).
Let’s just say it’s going to be a tough road ahead of him as if Mahomes wins MVP, Rodgers may win OPOY, or vice versa. Mahomes could even win both, Rodgers could do the same, or Cook could steal the OPOY show from the whole league.
It’ll be interesting to see once the award ceremony commences; but, we’ll just have to wait. Who knows what could happen in the upcoming weeks.
Do you think Kelce will win Offensive Player of the Year? Leave a comment down below to join the discussion. Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic day!
