6. TE Travis Kelce
When you have a tight end like Tony Gonzalez, who played 12 seasons for Kansas City, it is hard to think you’ll find a tight end as good as him – until Travis Kelce arrived. Kelce only appeared in one game as a rookie in 2013 after he was forced to get surgery on his knee. Since then, he has only missed one game with the Chiefs. There is a strong case to be made why Kelce is the best tight end in the NFL since missing his rookie season.
Kelce just broke the NFL record for being the first tight end to have 1,000 receiving yards in four consecutive seasons, starting that run in 2016. In 2018, Kelce, briefly, broke the NFL record for most receiving yards by a tight end in a single-season. That record was broken in less than an hour later by George Kittle of the 49ers.
Kelce caught 103 passes in 2018, edging Tony Gonzalez’s 102 receptions from 2004 for most catches in a year in Chiefs history. Kelce also has two of the 10 best seasons in terms of receiving yards in Chiefs history in 2018 and 2019.
Kelce’s speed is very rare for a tight end. His ability to beat linebackers and defensive backs and get open to make plays is similar to Gonzalez’s.
Kelce has been voted to five straight Pro Bowls and has been named First Team All-Pro twice and Second Team All-Pro once.