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    Adam TeicherESPN Staff Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Tony Gonzalez spent the first 12 seasons of his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs, a career that will land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame -- as soon as this winter. And yet he still wondered on a recent trip to Kansas City how much more he might have accomplished had he played with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

"To be in an offense like this, in this day and age, with the rules the way they are, to play with a guy like Patrick Mahomes, you just salivate," the former Chiefs tight end said. "You're just, 'Man, I wish I could do that.' I'm that crusty old guy saying, 'You know what I would have done if I would have been in this offense?Travis Kelce and not Gonzalez is the fortunate tight end who gets to play with Mahomes, at least at this early stage of the quarterback's career. Kelce has 98 catches for 1,274 yards and 10 touchdowns heading into Sunday's final regular-season game against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium.

Kelce had 12 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns in a game against the Raiders in early December. If he posts numbers close to that again Sunday, his season will easily eclipse the best of Gonzalez' 17-year career. Gonzalez had 102 catches for 1,258 yards and seven touchdowns in 2004 with the Chiefs.

Kelce would also have one of the best seasons ever for a tight end. He's 54 yards away from breaking Rob Gronkowski's single season record for yardage by a tight end.

Kelce had seasons of 80-plus catches and 1,000-plus yards in each of the last two seasons with Alex Smith at quarterback. But it's not a coincidence his career season is coming in Mahomes' first season as a starter.

"I've never seen a guy throw the ball like he does," Kelce said. "That's not taking away from any of the quarterbacks I've played with. When he's on the run, he's throwing no-look passes, throwing across the field to guys you wouldn't even think he's recognizing.

"Just being able to make plays when the plays need to be made, that's Patty Mahomes."

The two started forming a special on-field bond at training camp, when the ball went most often and for more big plays to Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

"He's got a great relationship with the quarterback," coach Andy Reid said of Kelce. "Actions speak louder than words in that case. Patrick has a lot of trust in him. ... It all kind of stems from that. I watch them talk in practice. They're always talking about how they can maneuver a route and make it a little bit better."

Kelce's season got off to a slow start in Los Angeles, where the Chiefs beat the Chargers as Hill had a big game. Kelce had just one catch and 6 yards.

Kelce had the first of his five 100-yard games the next week against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Kelce hasn't had fewer than five catches since the Chargers game.

"I felt like as training camp started going and we were around each other all day every day, we built that chemistry so I could throw balls early," Mahomes said. "He'll do stuff sometimes and I'll already know what he's going to do before the route's even ran and that's just the chemistry that you build when you're around each other that much.

"He stepped in since Day 1 and has been attacking every single day. He's been a guy who's had a lot of success in this league but he's never satisfied."

 

Kelce's big season with Mahomes is as much about the quarterback's ability to extend plays and make unconventional throws, like those across his body and back to the middle of the field while moving toward one sideline or the other.

Kelce is frequently on the receiving end of these passes. He's good not at just adjusting his route as necessary but finding holes in the defense when he does.

"He's pretty creative and doesn't really run the lines like a lot of people do," tight ends coach Tom Melvin said. "Pat's a little bit creative himself. The two of them together ... if the play breaks down and [Mahomes] has got to move a little bit in the pocket, now it comes to, ‘Where's the void?' You've got to have a feel for that, to know where to go and how things are coveragewise, where [defenders] are going to go, who they're dropping, where the void is going to be.

"Travis is getting himself to where he needs to be, and Pat has a great knack for throwing people open. They're not necessarily open when the ball leaves his hand. ... The play is never over when Pat still has the ball in his hand."

It's a situation that has Gonzalez, the NFL's all-time tight end leader for catches and yards, envious. But he also recognizes the talent of his successor as the next great Chiefs tight end.

"A phenomenal athlete, an unbelievable talent," Gonzalez said of Kelce. "And he's doing what he's supposed to be doing. He's setting records. ... Records are made to be broken. I got to break them, and now it's up to somebody else."