Kansas City Chiefs: Travis Kelce officially best tight end in the league
The Kansas City Chiefs are lucky to have Travis Kelce as part of their offense and it’s becoming clearer week by week that he’s, without a doubt, the best tight end in the NFL.
When the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Travis Kelce in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, no one thought much of it. Sure, it was exciting to add an offensive position player, but not many people probably pegged Kelce to be the next great tight end in the NFL.
Part of what has held Kelce back from being named the best tight end in the league is that Rob Gronkowski was so good for so long. The “but” part surrounding Gronk, however, was that the guy couldn’t stay healthy.
When Gronkowski was healthy, he was a beast, and no one is arguing that. Things are different now though, as Gronk looks old (yes, at 29 years of age he looks old) and it’s now not a contest when it comes to who the best tight end is in the NFL.
It’s Travis Kelce.
Travis Kelce is the first tight end in NFL history with 80+ receptions & 1,000+ receiving yards in three straight seasons
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) December 9, 2018
Kelce has 27 receiving TD since 2015, the most in the NFL among TE#ChiefsKingdom @Chiefs
Even when Kelce had Alex Smith as his quarterback, he was still a game changer and that shows how talented he is right there. During the Smith years, Kelce had two seasons in which he went for over 1,000 yards. Last year he had a career high eight touchdowns.
Patrick Mahomes taking over at quarterback has made Kelce even more dangerous of a threat, as he’s already hauled in 93 receptions for 1,220 yards and ten touchdowns, shattering his numbers from a season ago.
In comparison this year, Rob Gronkowski has had 45 receptions for 658 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games. George Kittle of the 49ers has 1,154 yards, but only four touchdowns (though it is worth noting Kittle only had his starting quarterback for three games) and Zach Ertz of the Eagles has 1,038 yards with six touchdowns.
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These are the four best tight ends in the league at the moment, but Kelce beats all of them in both yards receiving and touchdowns. Kelce has had five games this year where he’s gone for over 100 yards and three games where he’s scored multiple touchdowns.
The guy is a beast and I’m not sure how anyone is making a case that Gronk is better than him anymore. Gronkowski got old and it shows big time, as there’s no speed there with him.
Kelce, on the other hand, is still the same old Kelce week after week. With a deep threat quarterback now throwing to him, opposing defenses really have to game plan for Kelce now more than ever and that has to be terrifying for those teams.
Next. Five Best Tight Ends in Chiefs History. dark
What do you think, Chiefs Kingdom? Do you agree with me that Travis Kelce is the NFL’s best tight end?