The 10 best tight ends in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs

Making a list of the greatest tight ends in Kansas City Chiefs history is an interesting and quite hilarious exercise. What begins with such a front-loaded and obvious list of the best players to ever play the position for any team becomes a desperate hunt for any level of quality by the end—a precipitous drop between the top and the bottom.

It's likely that way with many franchises as quality tight ends can be hard to find, and when lengthening the list to a top 10, the bottom of the list sounds far more grand than things actually are. As it turns out, having an average career in the NFL at the tight end position likely qualifies a man to be on some team's list of top tight ends for most franchises.

Whether they're the biggest names in NFL history or obscure trivia answers for diehard fans only, it's still fun to go searching the Chiefs archives.

Criteria for Selection

When assessing the best tight ends in Chiefs history, it was important to consider the total offensive impact, which in some cases went beyond the stats. While, of course, the basics were measured such as catches, receiving yards, touchdowns and the like, it was also important to acknowledge the blocking prowess of some tight ends, which becomes a bit more subjective.

Some players had an impact felt for a short time. But in that span, it still made sense to honor their contributions. For others, their ability to remain on the roster for a solid length of time provided greater perceived value to the franchise over other contestants.

Here are our 10 best tight ends in Chiefs history.

The best tight ends in Chiefs history

10. Noah Gray

If it seems weird that the current TE2 for the Chiefs could be on the franchise's top 10, you're welcome to scour the history books yourself for someone better.

The truth is that Gray has been a solid second tight end for the Chiefs since he was drafted in the fifth round out of Duke back in 2021. Gray came into the NFL with a reputation as a coach's favorite, a sponge of a student who soaks up everything he's told. With each passing year, the Chiefs have saddled him with more and more responsibility and reps, and he's responded accordingly.

Coming into his contract year, Gray will be looking to seize on any and all opportunities coming his way in an offense that should be back to firing on all cylinders with the addition of vertical components for the first time since trading away Tyreek Hill.

9. Willie Scott

Sixteen seasons before the Chiefs would be swayed by another specimen at the position enough to take him in the middle of the first round in Tony Gonzalez, the Chiefs swung and somewhat missed with their selection of Willie Scott at No. 14 overall in the 1981 NFL Draft.

For anyone who saw Scott play for the South Carolina Gamecocks, there was nothing but excitement for his pro potential. Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 245 pounds, Scott was a linebacker with great hands and a great profile as a bright young end zone target for Marv Levy's offense that also featured Henry Marshall at wideout and Joe Delaney at running back.

Every draft prospect is a roll of the dice, however, and Scott never fully materialized as a dependable go-to target for the Chiefs. The strike of 1982 robbed him of much of his development as a sophomore, and it wasn't until his third season that he became even a part-time weapon. He had only 75 catches in his four seasons with the Chiefs, but 11 of those were touchdowns as a sign of what might have been with greater volume and offensive firepower.

8. Keith Cash

Few fans might remember the Keith Cash postseason blitz, but it was enough to make you wonder what might have been for a hot second if you were around.

Cash's name is likely lost on most of Chiefs Kingdom, a blip on the offensive radar in the early '90s. He came to the NFL as a seventh-round choice for Washington who failed to make the team. The Pittsburgh Steelers gave him a chance, and he caught seven passes for 90 yards in one game for them before being cut loose.

From there, he found a long(er)-term home with the Chiefs from 1992 to 1996, a stretch in which he mostly played second fiddle to Jonathan Hayes (see below). In those five seasons, he averaged 22 catches, 209 receiving yards, and two touchdowns—modest production for a TE2.

That said, there was a hot moment in which you had to wonder if the offense should target Cash more. That's because Keith lived up to his last name in the team's 1993 postseason run. In those three games, he had 17 catches for 223 yards and a touchdown—a sort of productive playoff surprise a la Damien Williams.

The Chiefs might have faltered that year, but Cash did more than his part.

7. Tony Moeaki

Most NFL fans know Travis Kelce as the heir to Tony Gonzalez's throne with the Chiefs, but there was actually one in between—a gifted but cursed prospect named Tony Moeaki.

For the uninformed, Moeaki was the top tight end recruit in the country coming out of high school, and his decision to go to college's top TE factory at the University of Iowa put him on a pro path immediately. He had an all-around game with soft hands and was a solid blocker as well.

Unfortunately, he was rarely healthy, even in college. Dan Shonka (h/t Bleacher Report) said of him before the draft, "He’s got all the talent, and he’s got the ability to start in the league, but you’re going to wonder if he’s going to be in the tub a lot.”

Shonka (and others) would prove to be right, as Moeaki left the Chiefs wondering what might have been more often than not.

Former Chiefs GM Scott Pioli invested a third-round pick in Moeaki in the 2010 NFL Draft, and he finished his first season with an impressive line of 47 catches for 556 yards and three scores. He sat out the entire next season due to injury, however, and he never returned to form. He played out his third NFL season in KC before missing his fourth and being waived with an injury designation.

6. Jason Dunn

One tight end got all the glory (and rightly so). Another did the dirty work.

Jason Dunn was always a feel-good story as a small-town kid from Harrodsburg, Kentucky (population 9K) who went on to play collegiately at Eastern Kentucky before finding himself as a draft anomaly—breaking into the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles' belief in his potential.

Dunn earned an immediate starting spot with the Eagles but never earned a significant amount of targets. After finding greater volume in his third season, he came into his contract year with high hopes. But a preseason knee injury robbed him of that vital year, and the Eagles turned the page to Chad Lewis.

The Chiefs signed Dunn that offseason and tasked him with the role of blocking tight end behind Tony Gonzalez on the depth chart. For the next eight seasons, Dunn played in 119 regular-season games with only 41 receptions to show for it. However, those who watched the Chiefs in those years know how important Dunn's presence was for an offense centered on Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson.

These days, Chiefs fans can find Dunn hosting the podcast Chief Concerns.

5. Jonathan Hayes

As we've already mentioned, Iowa is a football factory well-known for coaching up tight ends (think George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, Noah Fant, Sam LaPorta). In the case of Jonathan Hayes, it even made an All-American at the position out of a linebacker.

Hayes first came to Iowa City to play defense for Hayden Fry, but he was tasked with a positional switch before his sophomore season and took right to it. In fact, he declared early for the draft after his junior year and the Chiefs grabbed him in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft at No. 41 overall.

Hayes sat behind Walt Arnold for a couple of seasons before finding starter's reps during his nine years in Kansas City. While he never became a volume target, Hayes was a solid pro who even went on to play another three seasons in Pittsburgh before retiring. He finished his Chiefs career with 135 catches for 1,541 yards and 12 touchdowns.

4. Walter White

The most unfortunately placed tight end on this list is Walter White.

These days, we all know Walter White as the Breaking Bad protagonist, but he was also an impressively productive tight end for the Chiefs in a completely forgettable era. Hank Stram was fired one year before White was drafted in the third round, and no one—even diehard fans—talks about the late-'70s rosters with any amount of affection.

Still, we can't ignore White's productivity for the Chiefs in his five-year career. He ranked ninth in the NFL in receiving yards during his second season with 808 and seventh in touchdown receptions with seven. He followed that up with another 674 yards and five scores the following year, giving him some of the most productive seasons by a tight end in his short era.

3. Fred Arbanas

The first great tight end in Chiefs history, Arbanas was an AFL hero with his own mythology who helped frame the offensive success of the first decade of Chiefs football.

Arbanas was originally drafted by teams in the NFL (Cardinals) and AFL (Texans/Chiefs), but fortunately, he went with Lamar Hunt's team for the duration of his playing career. For the next nine seasons, he ended up catching 198 passes for 3,101 yards and 34 touchdowns during an era in which the Chiefs rode their defense to their first championship.

Not only did Arbanas earn his spot on the All-AFL team, as voted on by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he was also a five-time Pro Bowler (All-AFL honor) during his playing career. Even more incredible was the fact that he lost the ability to see out of one eye during a game and yet earned All-AFL honors the following season (with a glass eye).

2. Tony Gonzalez

Ten years ago, it would have been unthinkable that anyone could ever top Tony Gonzalez on a list like this. Heck, even five years ago, that would still likely be true.

It's easy now to forget just how dominant Tony Gonzalez was during his incredibly consistent run marked by tremendous athleticism, amazing hands, and alarming durability. Gonzalez was an uber-athletic freak who single-handedly revolutionized the tight end position for a new era of football, and if not for Travis Kelce, he'd remain the gold standard to this day of what is possible at the position.

Coming out of Cal, the marriage with the Chiefs was forecasted by many analysts, so when the Chiefs submitted his name in the first round, it surprised no one. From there, Gonzalez became the go-to option for one Chiefs quarterback after another through some highs (Schottenheimer, Vermeil) and lows (Edwards, Cunningham).

When all was said and done, Gonzalez broke every Chiefs receiving record possible and went on to break several NFL marks. He remains the team's all-time receptions leader (916), although that mark will fall in 2024 if Kelce stays healthy for any length of time. The same can be said for his touchdown mark of 76,.

Fourteen Pro Bowls. Ten All-Pro mentions. A remarkable 15,000 career receiving yards. Without a doubt, Gonzalez is one of the five greatest pass-catchers in the history of the game of football and a true innovator at the position.

1. Travis Kelce

The only thing that really needs to be written here is that Travis Kelce sits at No. 1 despite the accolades listed for Tony Gonzalez just a paragraph ago.

We can't just leave it at that, however.

Kelce's sustained production has never before been seen in NFL history—a run of eight consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards or more broken last year by a hair despite the fact that he missed two games (one for rest, one for injury). To silence his doubters, however, he went on to torch opponents in a blistering postseason run that showed what he had left in the tank during the team's fourth Super Bowl run.

For the last decade, Kelce has averaged 91 catches, 1,133 receiving yards, and 7.4 touchdowns for the Chiefs. Those are single-season highs for most pass-catchers, and elite players will put up runs like that for two-to-four seasons at a time. For a player to serve that up for a decade is ridiculous. Even more amazing is that Kelce sat out his entire rookie campaign due to injury.

While Kelce's production alone would place him first on our list, the truth is that his charisma and character has carried him to global popularity far beyond the football field. From dating the most well-known musician in the world to hosting Saturday Night Live to launching one of the web's most popular podcasts, Kelce is ubiquitous these days—a brand unto himself with a Midas touch.

With two years left on his contract, the end might be near. But no one should even project such things. It's a gift to see him play, and those of us who were present during this golden era of Chiefs football will forever tell stories of Kelce's greatness.

The 10 best tight ends in Chiefs history by receptions