By Jeremy
The Raiders have a fresh reason to worry about Travis Kelce, and it has little to do with his reputation. Through three games, he leads Kansas City with 14 catches and 231 receiving yards. Las Vegas, meanwhile, just allowed four touchdowns to Saints tight ends. The question for Sunday is narrower than whether the Raiders can stop the Chiefs’ offense: can returning rookie safety Treydan Stukes make Kelce work for his catches? Those early-season numbers come from Raiders.com’s Levi Edwards.
What Stukes brings back
Edwards reports that Stukes missed the Saints game while in concussion protocol and is expected to return against Kansas City. Before his absence, he had allowed a 20 percent completion rate in coverage. That is an encouraging start, but it is also a small sample—not proof that he can take Kelce out of a game by himself.
His return does give Las Vegas another option. A safety who can stay close to Kelce could help the Raiders avoid asking a linebacker to handle every coverage snap or leaving Kelce unchecked as he moves across the formation. But “shadowing” him sounds simpler than it plays. If Stukes follows too aggressively, Kansas City can look for space elsewhere; if he hangs back, Kelce may have room to settle into an easy throw for Patrick Mahomes.
Kelce is a different test—but the warning is real
Four touchdowns to Saints tight ends should command the Raiders’ attention. It does not, on its own, predict four more on Sunday. Those scores came in a different game against a different offense. What they do suggest is that Las Vegas has work to do around tight ends near the goal line, where one missed assignment can outweigh several sound coverage snaps.
Chiefs fans have seen Kelce turn modest openings into important completions often enough to know what to watch for: not necessarily a spectacular gain, but a third-down catch that extends a drive or a short reception when the field gets crowded. At the same time, there is reason to temper expectations. Edwards notes that Kelce totaled just six catches for 66 yards across Kansas City’s two meetings with Las Vegas in 2025. The Raiders have limited him recently, even if his start to 2026 looks much sharper.
The matchup is bigger than one defender
Stukes can help by making Kelce’s first opening harder to find and by staying disciplined when a play lasts longer than expected. The rest of the coverage still has to hold up. If Las Vegas devotes extra attention to Kelce, Mahomes can look elsewhere; if it trusts Stukes alone too often, it risks asking a rookie to solve one of football’s more demanding assignments.
From a Chiefs perspective, Stukes’ return makes this matchup more interesting, not less promising. Kelce has the form to test him, while the Raiders have a plausible answer they lacked last week. Sunday should show whether that answer changes the throws Mahomes is willing to make when Kansas City needs a completion most.
Stukes might be a promising rookie, but Kelce thrives on mismatches. Even if Stukes limits him early, I expect Mahomes to find other ways to exploit the Raiders’ defense. This won’t be easy for Vegas.
Stukes will certainly challenge Kelce, but the key is how well the Raiders can maintain that discipline throughout the game. If they get too focused on him, Mahomes will capitalize on mismatches elsewhere. That’s how the Chiefs stay lethal.