Where does Travis Kelce rank with NFL’s all-time great tight ends?

Receiving Touchdowns

• Antonio Gates – 116 (1st)


• Tony Gonzalez – 111 (2nd)


• Rob Gronkowski – 92 (3rd)


• Jimmy Graham – 85 (4th)


• Jason Witten – 74 (5th)


• Shannon Sharp – 61 (7th)


• Travis Kelce – 57 (9th)


• Ozzie Newsome – 47 (11th)


• Kellen Winslow – 45 (12th)

Takeaways: First, you have to tip your cap to touchdown machine Antonio Gates who is first in this category despite having 370 less receptions than Tony Gonzalez and playing in 34 less career games. Rob Gronkowski is also a monster in this category. He ranks third in touchdowns despite being 10th in receptions and playing in almost 130 less games than guys like Gonzalez and Jason Witten. This is also where Kelce is still lagging a little behind some of the other big names. It’s certainly possible that Kelce could work his way into the top five in this category if he stays productive long enough, but the top three spots are probably out of reach.

1000-Yard Receiving Seasons

• Travis Kelce – 6 (6 consecutive) – 1st


• Tony Gonzalez – 4 (2 consecutive) – Tied 2nd


• Jason Witten – 4 (2 consecutive) – Tied 2nd


• Rob Gronkowski – 4 (2 consecutive) – Tied 2nd


• Shannon Sharpe – 3 (2 consecutive) – Tied 5th


• Kellen Winslow – 3 (2 consecutive) – Tied 5th


• Antonio Gates – 2 (no consecutive) – Tied 9th


• Jimmy Graham – 2 (no consecutive) – Tied 9th


• Ozzie Newsome – 2 (no consecutive) – Tied 9th

*Greg Olsen* – 3 (3 consecutive)

Takeaways: This is the other area (along with yards per game) where Travis Kelce is doing something we simply have never seen in NFL history. Not only does he have 2 more 1000 yard seasons than any other tight end in NFL history, he has put up those seasons consecutively. No other tight end in NFL history has had more than three consecutive seasons of over 1000 yards and of the other tight ends that are considered top ten all-time tight ends the longest streak outside of Kelce’s is just two seasons. Simply put, the NFL has never seen a stretch of productivity like the last six seasons by Travis Kelce.

Conclusion

Travis Kelce’s statistics have already cemented himself in the top ten tight ends of all time. In fact, I think you can make a pretty strong case for him already being in the top six when it comes to numbers alone, and he hopefully still has several more highly productive seasons remaining. As we just saw, the current stretch he is on is unlike any other the NFL has ever seen. That having been said, he is still a long way from the crazy reception and yard totals that Tony Gonzalez (or even Jason Witten) put up.

Greg Morse recently wrote a great piece on how long Kelce can remain the NFL’s best tight end and I highly recommend checking it out if this topic interests you. In terms of what he would need to do to catch Gonzalez, it seems unlikely. Over Kelce’s record-breaking, six-year stretch, he has averaged about 94 receptions and 1211 yards. He would have to keep that same pace for six more seasons to pass Gonzalez in yards and seven more seasons to pass him in receptions. That would be 13 consecutive seasons of that type of production and he would turn 40 during the last season of that run. Kelce is amazing and I think he still has plenty left in his tank, but that still seems almost impossible to me.

I think Kelce would be a Hall of Fame lock if he retired today. Even if he can’t reach the totals of Tony Gonzalez I still believe he has an excellent chance to finish his career in the top 3/4 of almost every major category for tight ends. The bottom line is Chiefs fans need to not take for granted the chance to watch one of the best tight ends that the NFL has ever seen.