KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs are showing considerable love for tight end Travis Kelce, and that is understandable. Kelce is second on the Chiefs with 34 catches and 438 receiving yards, and leads the team in touchdown receptions with four. There is an argument to be made that Kelce is the Chiefs’ offensive MVP, though my first two choices would be Jamaal Charles and Alex Smith, in that order.

The Chiefs had a rookie tight end in 2010 who they thought would be a worthy successor to Tony Gonzalez. Tony Moeaki that season caught 47 passes, 14 more than Gonzalez did as a rookie, and looked like he would be the Chiefs’ next prolific pass-catching tight end.

Injuries to Moeaki prevented that from happening and the Chiefs cut him last season, when he was looking at a long layoff because of an ailing shoulder. The grand totals in his 30 games for the Chiefs: 80 catches for 1,009 yards and four touchdowns.

This is topical now because Moeaki will return to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday to face the Chiefs as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks signed Moeaki last week, and though he was inactive for the game against the New York Giants, Seattle coach Pete Carroll promised he would play against the Chiefs.

"He practiced really well last week and again today, so he’s off and running," Carroll said Wednesday. "He’s going to play for us this week, and we’re happy to have him."

Cynics might suggest Moeaki will come up with an injury of some sort against the Chiefs or soon thereafter, and they might be right. Moeaki’s injury history is extensive going back to his time before the Chiefs.

If he plays well against the Chiefs, or even later in the season, I’ll always wonder whether the Chiefs should have been more patient with Moeaki. I like Kelce better than Moeaki, even a healthy one. But a healthy Moeaki is a productive player.

Just imagine what the Chiefs could do if they had Kelce, Moeaki and Anthony Fasano, and they were all healthy. We could do more than imagine it in the summer of 2013, when during training camp it seemed every one of Smith’s passes headed to one of the three.

The Chiefs had big plans for all three, but they had to toss them in the trash before the season even started. Moeaki injured his shoulder, Kelce his knee, and neither played a snap for the Chiefs last season. Fasano missed eight games because of various injuries.

The Chiefs are doing well at tight end now thanks to Kelce’s rapid development. But how much better would they be at the position had they waited for Moeaki to mend?