Tight Ends
Once again, we have two stars duking out the positional matchup here. While George Kittle is arguably the second or third-best tight end in the league, he still pales in comparison to Travis Kelce.
You could make an argument that Kittle had the better season, receiving over 1,000 yards, while Kelce did not for the first time in seven seasons. There is some nuance here though when you consider Kelce’s age because he appeared to be banged up for much of the season. Some of this could also stem from Andy Reid and Mahomes wanting to get the veteran a few less reps with the ball in his hands while they tried to get the wide receiver room going and keep Kelce healthy.
With all of that being said, what Kelce has done thus far in the playoffs has left little doubt in the minds of NFL fans everywhere that he has quite a bit left in the tank. He has gone for 262 yards and three touchdowns in three games and seemingly moving the chains at will. He has been targeted 27 times and hauled in 23 of them.
While the 49ers have only played two playoff games thus far, Kittle is averaging just 54 yards per game. Sure, Kittle has the edge in the blocking game and has to share the ball with a lot more studs, but Kelce has greatness and a clutchness that is unmatched by any other tight end, or possibly even any wide receiver in NFL history.