Should you drop Travis Kelce in Week 4? Fantasy projection for Chiefs TE

Travis Kelce's fantasy outlook hasn't been the brightest this year, but the same can be said for most tight ends. Through three weeks of football, Kelce has eight catches on 12 targets for 69 yards - not exactly league-leading numbers. So if you have Kelce on your roster, should you hit the panic button in Week 4?

NFL: Kansas City Chiefs at Atlanta Falcons - Source: Imagn

Travis Kelce's fantasy projection for Week 4

Kelce is currently ranked as TE27 heading into Week 4 but if you zoom out a little, it's a rough year for tight ends overall. Sam LaPorta, who was a bonafide stud last year is TE17 while Mark Andrews is TE33.

By all measures, it's been an agonizingly slow start for Kelce. A total of 69 receiving yards so far with no touchdowns to show for it means patience is running thin for fantasy owners. What's more, per Yahoo, a total of 242 players have scored more fantasy points than Kelce after three weeks of football.

There are some things to like, though. Kelce was second on the team in catches and targets against the Falcons behind only Rashee Rice, who looks destined to end up as a top-5 fantasy receiver this year. Week 4's matchup is a friendly one for Kelce. The Los Angeles Chargers aren't known for being a watertight defense despite their record.

If you're looking for explanations regarding Kelce's fantasy lull, there are a few. For starters, the Chiefs' running game took a pretty big hit when Isiah Pacheco was placed on Injured Reserve. Since then, despite having Carson Steele and Samaje Perrine, the Chiefs have turned to the passing game (for obvious reasons) to make up for Pacheco's lost production.

While it's clear Rice will be the favored target for Mahomes, things might change against the Chargers, who have allowed the 13th-fewest passing yards this season. Kelce will have little problem getting open so look for Mahomes to ramp up the targets as the season goes on.

We've also not seen the best of Mahomes so far, but neither Kelce nor Mahomes appeared too concerned when pressed about why Kelce wasn't getting more targets.

"I've had a lot of catches in this league, man. I'm not worried about the catches and the yards and all that. I have the most fun when the ball is thrown my way, who doesn't? It has everything to do with execution, just making sure we're doing whatever we can to win these football games, man. That's always going to be the goal," Kelce said this week.

Mahomes also confirmed that the offense is calling a lot of plays for Kelce but "it's like two or three people are going to him."

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Should you drop Travis Kelce?

You'd be forgiven for thinking twice about keeping Kelce on your roster or trading him away but Week 4 feels like a matchup that's geared for Kelce to put up some respectable numbers.

Sooner or later, teams will double Rashee Rice to put the handcuffs on him and while the Chiefs could still turn to rookie speedster Xavier Worthy, let's not forget that Kelce has been the most consistent tight end in football over the past five years.

Our advice is to stick with Kelce, and if you don't have him on your roster, it might be time to buy low on the Chiefs tight end.

Dalton Kincaid vs Travis Kelce fantasy projection for Week 4

Sportskeeda's Who Should I Start analyzer projects a return of 10.3 points for Kelce but we're a little higher on him for Week 4 against the Chargers.