How does Travis Kelce stack up to Tony Gonzalez so far?

Travis Kelce is on the verge of another incredible season, but how does his first four years in the league compare to Tony Gonzalez.

The Kansas City Chiefs can lay claim to having drafted and employed the greatest tight end of all time, a fact that will be cemented, er inducted, in 2019 when Tony Gonzalez is finally eligible for his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Several years after Gonzalez left, the Chiefs might once again boast the best tight end in the NFL in Travis Kelce.

It could be argued that Rob Gronkowski is the best tight end of his generation, but health issues come into play there. Either way, Gronk is certainly a beast of a weapon for Tom Brady’s offense, but Kelce is right up there with him. The two-time Pro Bowler will certainly earn another nod this year and looks like he’s just hitting his stride in terms of impacting the game and chemistry with his quarterback, Alex Smith.

As a Chiefs fan, it’s a bounty of riches, so to speak, to have watched both Gonzalez and Kelce play. Each was (or is) a game-changing player who is a match-up nightmare for most teams, too fast for linebackers and too large for defensive backs. Given that Kelce is likely to cross the 1,000 yard mark in his next game (he needs 9 total yards), we wanted to see how he’s stacking up against Gonzalez in his first four years as a starter.

A few important disclaimers:

It needs to be noted that Tony Gonzalez was incredibly young when he first entered the NFL, which is not only what allowed him to have such a long career but it also makes comparisons like this tough to measure.
We’re not counting the rookie seasons of either player. Kelce missed his entire rookie year due to injury. Gonzalez never started a single game as a 21-year-old rookie.
Kelce still has two full games of his fourth year to play out, so his totals will rise accordingly.

With that said, let’s go ahead.

Through their first four years as starters in the NFL, here are the totals:

Catches
Gonzalez: 301
Kelce: 303

Receiving Yards
Gonzalez: 3,590 yards
Kelce: 3,853 yards

Touchdowns
Gonzalez: 28
Kelce: 21

Fumbles:
Gonzalez: 5
Kelce: 6

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Looking at these simple stats, I have to admit that I was shocked to see Kelce in such good company. I thought he might have been a bit slow to get moving, but I also didn’t realize that Tony Gonzalez only had a single 1,000 yard season in his first 7 years in the league (and only 4 in his entire career).

It’s also important to note that Gonzalez was only 25 in his fourth year as a starter, whereas Kelce is 28. That’s a significant difference if you want to begin to project how things might turn out for Kelce. If he were even a couple years younger, I might be quicker to allude to Hall of Fame credentials. As it is, there’s still far too much productivity missing on the stat sheet to discuss Kelce in those terms.

Still, at least from the perspective of his first few years as a starter, we’re witnessing the sort of foundation that could eventually earn some lifetime accolades. Kelce is a true impact talent and this season has provided more and more evidence of his elite talent level. Whether or not he’s a truly generational talent is only something that can be answered by his play on the field over the next several years.

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We can certainly hope that’s the case.

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