The Miami Dolphins know the key to slowing Patrick Mahomes on Sunday in Frankfurt, Germany, will be blanketing his favorite target, Travis Kelce.
With Jalen Ramsey preparing for his second game of the campaign following a preseason knee procedure, deploying the star cornerback against the Chiefs top pass-catcher is one option. But Friday, Ramsey wasn't letting any plans slip.
"We'll see," Ramsey told reporters from Germany when asked if he might cover Kelce, per the Miami Herald.
Few have slowed the dynamic tight end, who owns the ability to beat linebackers and safeties with precise route running, outmuscle corners and find gaps in zone defenses. The mind-meld between Kelce and Mahomes makes the duo nearly impossible to stop.
"He lines up all over the place, so occasionally that could happen with him and Jalen," Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said on Thursday of the corner covering Kelce. "He's tough, he's a great tight end. He runs really good routes. Him and the quarterback have great karma together, especially as plays extend. He's tough to stop totally there. He's caught over 100 balls, how many years in a row? So, really, nobody's figured that out."
Kelce leads tight ends in receptions (54) and receiving yards (583) in 2023. Among all players, he's tied for eighth in catches and 11th in receiving yards despite missing Week 1 due to a knee injury.
Whether or not Fangio deploys Ramsey on Kelce a lot or a little Sunday in Germany -- airing exclusively on NFL Network and streaming on NFL+ -- the DC noted that the club has designs on moving the corner around in the coming contests.
"Yeah, I think at some point, possibly this game, but at some point we'll start moving him around," Fangio said on Thursday. "I think it's important that he gets his legs underneath him and feels comfortable out there."
In his first game in 2023 on Oct. 29, Ramsey baited Patriots quarterback Mac Jones into an interception while allowing one catch for 24 yards on three targets, per Next Gen Stats -- the catch came from Patriots tight end Pharaoh Brown.
According to NGS, in four career games Ramsey has faced Kelce's Chiefs, the corner has been the nearest defender on the tight end for 30 snaps, allowing one catch on five targets. The lone reception went for a 39-yard touchdown in 2022 when Ramsey was with the L.A. Rams.
