For the third consecutive year, Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce won’t take the No. 1 spot in ESPN’s tight end rankings. Instead, Kelce is again ranked as the No. 2 tight end in the league behind San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle. One NFL decision-maker even ranked Kelce as low as the No. 4 tight end in the NFL.
It’s almost comical at this point, with Kelce continuing to stack the most impressive career accolades. Kelce has been the pinnacle of reliability and production as a receiver, but he continues to be discredited on some absurd idea that he’s not an adequate blocker. ESPN says that Kittle will, “always have the blocking advantage over him.” Maybe that will be the case purely because of usage, as Kansas City doesn’t use Kelce as a blocker as much as they used to.
Any shortcomings as a blocker should be overshadowed by the fact that Kelce is the only player in the NFL to record 80+ catches and 1,000+ receiving yards in every season since 2016. He’s not just dominating the tight end position, but the receiver position as well.
“When it comes to route running, putting him out there all game and asking
him to isolate and win, there’s still nobody better at the position,” a veteran AFC scout told ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler.
Beyond his pure statistical dominance, Kelce also comes up for the Chiefs in the biggest situations. Look no further than his performance in the divisional round playoff game against the Buffalo Bills. Not only did he help coordinate the 13-second drive to tie the game, but he scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to send the team to their fourth consecutive AFC title game. Kelce had three times Kittle’s production in the 2021-2022 playoffs in the same amount of games played.
“He’s still so clutch in big moments,” a veteran AFC offensive coach told ESPN. “Just look at the end of the Bills game [in the playoffs].”
Kelce is 32 years old and will be 33 this season. To these NFL executives, coaches and scouts, he’s old news. Kittle is just 28 years old and the newer model so to speak. It really doesn’t matter what Kelce accomplishes at this point. He’ll prove to be the best again on the field this season, and that’s all that matters in the end.
