Kansas City Chiefs: AFC West is stacked at the tight end position
When it comes to the tight end position, no division is more loaded than the AFC West where the Kansas City Chiefs and three other teams are stacked.
When compiling my list of the best tight ends on the Kansas City Chiefs‘ schedule this year, one thing stood out to me and that was just how good the tight ends are in the AFC West.
First and foremost, there’s Travis Kelce of the Chiefs. We really don’t need to go into everything Kelce has done during the course of his career since this is a Kansas City blog and you’ve all watched him for over half a decade now, but let it be known the guy is the BEST tight end in the entire league. Yes, even better than George Kittle.
Kelce has been dominant since 2014 and has shown no signs of slowing down. Part of why the Chiefs have been so dominant in recent years has been because of Travis Kelce. He’s one of a kind and there’s a reason why the Chiefs felt confident extending him until his age 36/37 season.
The rest of the AFC West aren’t as fortunate as the Kansas City Chiefs as far as tight end goes, but they’re still well set-up.
The second best tight end in the AFC West is Darren Waller of the Las Vegas Raiders. This is not something that any of us would have imagined being the case this time last year, as Waller had roughly 170 receptions through three years and two different teams.
Suddenly, Waller exploded onto the scene this past year with over 1,100 yards and three touchdowns. He’s now considered one of the best tight ends in the entire league, which – again – none of us would have thought possible this time last year. People didn’t even really know who he was prior to the 2019 season.
The Chargers have been fortunate to have both Hunter Henry and Antonio Gates in recent years, but Henry is now their starter moving forward. He’s been good when he’s healthy, but that’s a big when. He missed all of 2018 due to injury and missed four games last year as well.
Still, Henry is a terror to stop when he is on the field and the Chargers were able to carry on their tradition of having dominant tight ends as a result.
Lastly, there’s the Broncos, who didn’t make my list of toughest tight ends in 2020, but they still have a promising star in Noah Fant. The Iowa product didn’t have quite the rookie season that many predicted him to, but that should change in year two now that he doesn’t have Joe Flacco throwing to him.
So, to sum up, the AFC West has Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, Hunter Henry, and Noah Fant – Four tight ends who very well could finish the year in the top ten as far as stats go.
The Kansas City Chiefs still have the best tight end in the entire league, but the rest of the division isn’t slacking at the position by any means.