Travis Kelce needs 400 yards to break George Kittle’s record for tight end production

Travis Kelce is on pace to have the most receiving yards he has ever had in a single season. That means he could break a record that he shortly once owned.

Travis Kelce is on pace to take back an NFL record that was snagged from him shortly after he shattered it back in 2018. Kelce is exactly 400 yards shy of the single-season NFL record for most receiving yards owned by a tight end. San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle owns the record with 1,377 yards as Kelce currently sits with 978 yards.

In Week 17 of the 2018 season against the then-Oakland Raiders, Kelce broke Rob Gronkowski’s record from 2011 of 1,327 yards, finishing the 2018 campaign with 1,336. But less than an hour later, Kittle surpassed Kelce by 41 yards to possess the record.

Kelce is third in the NFL right now with 978 yards behind teammate and wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf. With five games remaining in the 2020 NFL season, Kelce needs to average 80 yards per game for the rest of the year to break Kittle’s record.

If you want to compare, Kelce had 914 receiving yards at this exact point in the season back in 2018. He is 64 yards ahead of where he was in 2018. Kelce is averaging close to 89 yards per game this year, which can push him over Kittle’s record at the pace he is at right now. At that rate, Kelce is projected to finish with 1,418 yards.

Kelce is 22 yards short of the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Once Kelce surpasses 1,000 receiving yards for 2020, he will have recorded five consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards. When Kelce eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in 2019, he broke the record for most consecutive years of 1,000 receiving yards for a fourth time, passing Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, who owned that record from 2014 through 2016.

Travis Kelce turned 31 in October as his contract is set to expire after the 2025 season. Following 2020, Kelce has at least five more seasons left with the Chiefs, provided that he plays through his current contract. Kelce is 10th all-time in receptions and is just outside the top 10 in receiving yards and touchdown catches by a tight end in a career. It is uncertain how long Kelce’s career will last after his current deal, and it certainly depends on how things unfold the next five years. At this rate, it is assured that Kelce will put himself with elite company among tight ends by the time his career is over.