By scoring his 76th receiving touchdown against the Denver Broncos in Week 10, tight end Travis Kelce tied Tony Gonzalez for the most receiving touchdowns for a Kansas City Chiefs player. In what was a special moment for the future first-ballot Hall of Famer, CBS broadcaster Kevin Harlan made a tongue-in-cheek reference to Taylor Swift.
“Caught for the touchdown! There it is! The all-time Chiefs leading touchdown receiver. From Mahomes!”
Just as the camera switched to Taylor Swift applauding from her seat in the stands, Harlan put a finishing touch on his call.
“That will give you sum'n to sing about!”
As of entering this contest, Kelce is already the Chiefs' all-time leader in receptions (959) and receiving yards (11,763). However, he still has a long way to go to surpass Gonzalez's career totals of 1,325 receptions, 15,127 yards and 111 touchdowns.
Where does Chiefs' Kelce rank among the greatest tight ends ever?
The 35-year-old Kelce has already had an impeccable career with the Chiefs. Kelce has three Super Bowl titles, four first-team All-Pro seasons and nine Pro Bowls. There's no denying his Hall of Fame credentials. But the top of the food chain among tight ends is full of paradigm-shifting titans, like Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jason Witten, Rob Gronkowski, Shannon Sharpe, Dave Casper, Ozzie Newsome, Kellen Winslow, Dave Casper and more.
Perhaps the best comparison for Kelce is Casper. Dating back to the glory days of the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s, Casper had his career cut short by injuries, but what he accomplished on a per-game basis is unrivaled. In just 100 career starts, he collected 378 catches, 5,216 yards and 52 touchdowns. If extrapolated over the same number of career starts as Gonzalez (254), Casper would've had 960 catches, 13,248 yards and 132 touchdowns. Of course, Tony G's longevity is another aspect of his game that made him so special, but it's important to remember Casper played in a less pass-friendly era—a time when tight ends simply didn't do what he was doing.
So why Casper compares to Kelce is that although the Chiefs star has been prolific, he's reached his “new heights” in just 160 starts. He would need to play 94 more games, almost six more seasons, to stick around as long as Gonzalez. While he played for a long time, Gonzalez retired after 17 seasons at age 37. He just never slowed down, even collecting 83 catches for 859 yards and eight touchdowns in his final season in 2013.
Or maybe Rob Gronkowski, given his injury history and tough-nosed style of play, is the better player comp to Casper. In any case, whether it's stats, longevity, consistency, toughness, blocking, touchdowns, volume or an era-defining impact that defines who is the best, Kelce is in the debate for GOAT tight end. That's a great place to be.
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