Why Travis Kelce is best tight end in NFL history

Travis Kelce continued to climb his way up the record books after another milestone moment for him this past Sunday night during Kansas City’s win over Tampa Bay when he surpassed former Patriots and Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski for most receiving yards in a career by a tight end.

In addition to being fifth in career receiving yards, Kelce is sixth in career receptions and sixth in career touchdown catches by a tight end. He just turned 33 years old and has a lot of gas left in the tank. At the rate he is going, he is on pace to either break every career record by a tight end or come very close to it.

The bottom line: Kelce is the best tight end in NFL history.

Kelce already owns the record for most consecutive and total 1,000-yard receiving seasons by a tight end. He has had six straight seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards and is on pace to make it seven years in a row. Gronkowski, Jason Witten, and Tony Gonzalez each had four 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

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Travis Kelce’s career is far from over and he has already accomplished things that no tight end has been able to do in NFL history.

Last year in the playoffs, Kelce earned his seventh 100-yard receiving game in the postseason. That is the second most in NFL history. One more 100-yard postseason game will tie him with Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice. As for other tight ends in this category, Gronkowski, Vernon Davis and Keith Jackson each had four games with 100 or more receiving yards in the playoffs.

Speaking of the playoffs, Kelce has thrived in the postseason better than any tight end in league history. In the playoffs, Kelce averages 15.1 catches, 184.4 receiving yards, and 1.7 touchdowns per game, the most in all three categories at his position.

As mentioned before, Kelce just turned 33 and his current contract with the Chiefs ends after the 2025 season. He is bound to tie and even shatter Rice’s record for most 100-yard postseason receiving performances and it is expected that he will continue to put up 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

The tight end position has been revolutionized by Kelce. He may not have the most catches, yards, and touchdowns in a career by a tight end yet. But he has already accomplished a lot of things that no other tight end has come close to doing.

Even though Kelce’s career is still far from over, there is still enough to say that he is the best tight end in NFL history. All that’s left for him to do is to keep raising the bar and set the career record for catches, yards, and touchdowns by a tight end. Don’t be surprised if he shatters all of those records by the time his career is over.