How does a fantasy football draft look after drafting a TE in Round 1?

Tyler Loechner

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So, you’ve decided you’re going to take Travis Kelce in Round 1 of your fantasy football draft if he’s available when you’re on the clock.

What next?

This article will help guide you through what your draft strategy options are after taking the plunge on a TE in the first round, including some real-life examples from 2021 fantasy football drafts involving the FTN staff.

Real-life examples of drafts with Travis Kelce in Round 1

Here are three different drafts with Travis Kelce going in Round 1.

Best ball

Here’s a real Underdog draft where I scooped up Kelce in Round 1:

Round 1	Travis Kelce, TE	Round 7	JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR	Round 13	Irv Smith, TE
Round 2	Davante Adams, WR	Round 8	Mecole Hardman, WR	Round 14	Deshaun Watson, QB
Round 3	Amari Cooper, WR	Round 9	Leonard Fournette, RB	Round 15	Tyrell Williams, WR
Round 4	Patrick Mahomes, QB	Round 10	Tony Pollard, RB	Round 16	Ben Roethlisberger, QB
Round 5	Chase Claypool, WR	Round 11	Kenyan Drake, RB	Round 17	Nico Collins, WR
Round 6	Courtland Sutton, WR	Round 12	Latavius Murray, RB	Round 18	Marlon Mack, RB

This best ball draft was done shortly before Aaron Rodgers’ return was official, hence the discount on Davante Adams, but you get the picture. There was a full-on zero-RB approach here, with no RB taken until Round 9.

One really interesting thing you can do with Kelce in Round 1 is stack him with Patrick Mahomes. I wouldn’t draft Mahomes before Round 4, though. But it’s a fantastic stack and really the only elite QB-TE stack in the game.

Superflex

FTN’s Matt Freedman took the plunge on Kelce in one of our staff superflex leagues:

Here’s the full team:

Round 1	Travis Kelce, TE	Round 7	Mike Davis, RB	Round 13	Alexander Mattison, RB
Round 2	Tyreek Hill, WR	Round 8	Kareem Hunt, RB	Round 14	Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR
Round 3	Justin Jefferson, WR	Round 9	Mike Williams, WR	Round 15	K.J. Hamler, WR
Round 4	CeeDee Lamb, WR	Round 10	Jameis Winston, QB	Round 16	Emmanuel Sanders, WR
Round 5	Julio Jones, WR	Round 11	Carson Wentz, QB	Round 17	Malcolm Brown, RB
Round 6	Trevor Lawrence, QB	Round 12	Gus Edwards, RB	Round 18	Randall Cobb, WR

In superflex drafts, Kelce in Round 1 and Tyreek Hill in Round 2 is certainly possible if you’re drafting toward the end of Round 1. But since it’s a superflex, you’re very unlikely to pair Kelce with Patrick Mahomes, who is usually off the board within the first few picks of superflex drafts.

Freedman also deployed the zero-RB approach here. By eschewing the top-tier RBs in Round 1, the zero-RB approach really seems to be the most natural path for Kelce drafters in most league types.

Standard 1-QB fantasy league (PPR)

Here’s a mock draft I completed with Kelce in Round 1 but with an RB in Round 2.

Round 1	Travis Kelce, TE	Round 7	Jerry Jeudy, WR	Round 13	Evan Engram, TE
Round 2	Antonio Gibson, RB	Round 8	Jalen Hurts, QB	Round 14	Baker Mayfield, QB
Round 3	Allen Robinson, WR	Round 9	Marvin Jones, WR	Round 15	Tyrell Williams, WR
Round 4	Josh Jacobs, RB	Round 10	Leonard Fournette, RB	Round 16	Latavius Murray, RB
Round 5	Diontae Johnson, WR	Round 11	Tony Pollard, RB	Round 17	DeSean Jackson, WR
Round 6	Odell Beckham, WR	Round 12	Cole Beasley, WR	Round 18	Qadree Ollison, RB

Personally, I don’t like the way this team turned out. Antonio Gibson is a solid tail-end RB1, but I’m way behind the curve with my starting three WRs.

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The strategy of taking Kelce in Round 1

By taking Kelce in Round 1, you’re automatically going to have a draft that feels quite different. I prefer to lean into this and go heavy on the zero-RB and gain positional value at both TE and WR, and potentially QB if you spend Round 4-6 pick at the position.

If you play in a league that allows for two TEs (one at TE and one in the flex), don’t overlook the bully TE option with Darren Waller in Round 2 or George Kittle in Round 3. It’s unconventional, but all three of Kelce, Waller and Kittle score like WRs anyway. It’s not an unheard-of strategy.

Scooping up an RB in Round 2 works, as shown above, but you are already out of the top tier of RBs by this point, so it almost feels like playing catch up. It’s certainly a viable strategy, and if your Round 2 RB produces above expectation, your team will almost certainly be looking great. And there are still fantasy WR1s available in Round 3. If you want a team that feels “balanced” after going TE in Round 1, this is the way to do it.