Super Bowl DFS Tight End Decision: Is Travis Kelce or Dallas Goedert Better for Your Team?

Are you ready for it? Are you prepared to again be without real NFL football for six months? I'm not, but we don't have much choice, I guess, so all we can do is make the best of the small amount of time we have left. Don't be sad it's over; be happy it happened.

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) is one of the last remaining ways to participate, and we are down to very few remaining players, making for fewer decisions. With less options, we can spend more time on each player available, theoretically giving us the chance to perfect the best DFS roster (though nothing is that easy).

When it comes to tight ends, most fantasy owners are often trying to find a little value and maybe pick the guy who ends up finding the end zone. There are stars, but there are many more players who rarely put up more than modest stats and have low floors.

Owners can feel a little relief at the position this week, as there is a Hall of Famer (Travis Kelce) and a decent fantasy tight end with a great matchup (Dallas Goedert). With so few options, we can look a little deeper at those players.

Let's look at the starting tight ends for Kansas City and Philadelphia to try to determine who is the best bet from a DFS perspective. We'll look at the defenses, each individual player, and what we can expect during the big game.

Stats are from NFL.com, fantasy points and rankings are from FantasyPros, and the defensive fantasy rankings are our own here at FantasySP.

Defenses

Philadelphia had maybe the best pass defense in football this season. They led the league by a wide margin in yards per pass attempt allowed, and they gave up the ninth-least fantasy points to tight ends.

The Chiefs were in the middle against the pass and against most positions in fantasy. Tight ends excelled against Kansas City, though, as the team gave up the sixth-most fantasy points to the position. It was a season-long issue, as KC was at the top of the list often throughout 2024.

It's really about as clear as that: the Eagles are a bad matchup for tight ends, but the Chiefs offer an opportunity for opposing players to put up nice stats.

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Some of Kelce's numbers were in line with his career marks: his 97 receptions and 133 targets were both a bit higher than his averages. His efficiency tanked, though, as his 823 yards and three touchdowns were career lows, and his 8.5 yards per reception were a full 2.1 yards less than his next lowest season (which was 2023).

I figured Kelce would turn things on when the playoffs came around, and that was certainly the case in the Divisional Round, when Kelce caught seven of eight targets for 117 yards and a touchdown. He was slowed significantly in the AFC Championship, though, catching just two passes for 19 yards.

It's likely this game will end up somewhere between those two performances. The tough matchup has a real effect on both Kelce's ceiling and floor, lowering his fantasy value.

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

Goedert's season-long fantasy performance was tanked because he missed seven full games and most of another. His per-game numbers (4.2 catches, 49.6 yards) were a little better than his career rates but mostly in line with what we expect.

His playoff numbers are even a hair better: 15 catches, 188 yards, and a touchdown in three games. On a nice streak of games and with a really good matchup, Goedert is an appealing fantasy option in the Super Bowl.

Best DFS Play

Kelce costs more in DFS contests than Goedert, meaning he needs to stand out to be the better option. While Kelce undeniably has a higher ceiling and a longer track record of success, his performance fell this year with age, and he has split good and bad games in the playoffs.

Especially with the matchup heavily in Goedert's favor, I see him as the better DFS player. He is cheaper, a big benefit you can use to help grab better receivers. Goedert seems like an easy pick, and many DFS owners will probably lean toward Kelce because of his name, giving a possible edge by going against the grain.

Bonus Round: Fantasy Kicker Decision

Fantasy kickers are almost impossible to predict; that's why everyone says to wait to draft them until the last round. If the players are priced differently, going with the cheaper guy is the better play, no matter who it is.

If they are the same or close to it, though, as these guys are, then it comes down to preference (and luck). Philadelphia's Jake Elliott has had a little trouble, particularly with longer field goals. His team always goes for it on 4th down, too, giving him less chances at kicks from distance.

I prefer KC's Harrison Butker, who missed four games during the season but is back and healthy in the playoffs. He has been one of the best kickers in the game over the past few years, and it's worth grabbing Butker unless Elliott costs significantly less.