The Kansas City Chiefs open their title defense on Thursday Night Football vs. the Detroit Lions. Earlier in the week, the Chiefs announced that TE Travis Kelce is dealing with a bone bruise in his knee caused by a hyperextension. He was designated as questionable to play in Week 1 vs. the Lions on TNF and reports are suggesting there’s a chance he sits out. If that’s the case, Noah Gray should serve as the primary TE and get most of those snaps. We go over whether or not he’s a viable fantasy football option.
Fantasy football start sit advice: Chiefs TE Noah Gray
If Kelce is sidelined, Gray should see almost all of the snaps at tight end. Blake Bell is the other tight end on the roster but he isn’t a receiving threat at all. Bell would be very, very TD dependent even if he sees a decent amount of snaps. So we’ll focus up on Gray, who had a few moments last season.
He finished 2022 with 28 receptions for 299 yards and a TD. There were a few games where he saw multiple targets and would have made for a decent PPR option. On Sleeper, Gray is getting a lot of love and is up to 53% rostership on the website. You can probably expect most Kelce managers to have Gray or scoop him before tonight’s matchup. If you have Kelce and don’t have another TE option, Gray is worth adding for sure.
Is he fantasy viable? Gray is risky but could be a decent play. Don’t touch Gray in a standard league. He’d be pretty TD dependent and may not see more than say 3-5 targets. It’s unlikely Gray sees the type of target volume as Kelce. Gray also isn’t a future Hall of Famer. In PPR formats, Gray isn’t a bad option if he gets to 3-4 receptions for around 40-50 yards. Throw in a TD with that stat line and you’re feeling good about the decision.
In a shallow fantasy football season-long league, chances are you can find a better TE replacement for Kelce if he sits. In deeper formats, you may be forced to play Gray, which in that situation is fine. What other choice is there? It’s Week 1. See how Gray performs and reassess after the game.
In DFS Showdown on DraftKings, Gray will be very trendy. The increase in rostership could mean we get off Gray chalk and onto some leverage plays. Or if you’re going to play Gray in Showdown, be sure to throw in a contrarian option like Clyde Edwards-Helaire or one of the depth WRs on the Lions side.
