Travis Kelce becomes first tight end with 4 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is on the verge of setting a new NFL record for consistent success as a receiver.

Coming into Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce needed only 11 yards to reach 1,000 yards receiving on the season. After catching a 11-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes in the 1st quarter, Kelce eclipsed that very mark, making him the first tight end in NFL history to ever put up four consecutive seasons of hitting the 1K goal.

It’s amazing to think that no other tight end has ever accomplished this feat. Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, widely considered the best of all time, only put up four 1,000 seasons ever in his 17-year career and never more than two of those seasons in a row. The exact same thing can be said for Patriots great Rob Gronkowski, a future Hall of Famer, to be certain. Gronk also had only 4 seasons of 1,000 yards receiving in his career and never more than 2 in a row, just like Gonzalez.

At this point, it feels as if 1,000 yards is automatic for Kelce given that he’s put together so many seasons. Mahomes is going to put up massive amounts of yards as his quarterback, but Kelce was also hitting this mark with Alex Smith at the helm. He’s a total mismatch for defenders across the middle with his blend of size, speed, and athleticism.

What’s amazing about Kelce’s numbers is that he missed his entire rookie year due to a preseason knee injury that required surgery. If not for missing the 2013 campaign, it’s likely Kelce would have started climbing toward such goals even earlier in a career that’s beginning to look bound for Canton, too, one day.