Who is the best tight end in the NFL?
Tight end is a pivotal position in the NFL, with players needing to be strong enough to block linebackers and defensive ends while being athletic enough to create separation from defenders and make contested catches.
Tight end is not a position that anyone can play, as it takes a player who has the right mix of size, power, and finesse.
The best tight end in the NFL is Travis Kelce
Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is widely considered the best tight end in the NFL today. Kelce had a stellar season, catching 105 passes for 1,416 yards. This was good for an average of 13.5 yards per reception, meaning that Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes can just throw the ball to his most reliable target anytime the offense needs to pick up enough yardage to move the chains.
Kelce is fast, but not a track star like teammate Tyreek Hill, with his longest reception on the season totalling in at 45 yards. Kelce caught 11 touchdowns this season, a career high for him. In previous years the Chiefs' offense featured plays where Kelce took the ball on a handoff, even scoring on the ground from four yards out in 2019.
Kelce has 48 career receiving touchdowns in the regular season, along with his single rushing touchdown. In the postseason, Kelce has 9 receiving touchdowns, bringing his total TD count to 58. The talented tight end caught 4 touchdowns in the 2019 postseason en route to Kansas City's Super Bowl LIV victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Heading into this year's Super Bowl LV matchup in Tampa Bay against the hometown Buccaneers, Kelce already has three touchdowns in this postseason.
Kelce has been a consistent performer for the Chiefs, playing in at least 15 games every regular season since 2014, and starting all but five games in that span. The five games that Kelce did not start as tight end came in his sophomore season, but when he was promoted to starter, he never relinquished the role.
Kelce was drafted as a tight end in the 3rd round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Kansas City had just hired head coach Andy Reid, and Reid was familiar with Kelce, as Kelce's older brother Jason played under Reid for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Due to his combination of ideal size and agility for a tight end, Travis Kelce is considered a matchup nightmare and this is what makes him so dangerous. He is listed as 6 foot 5 inches tall, weighing in at 255 pounds. This size advantage makes him the ideal edge blocker for Kansas City, as well as creating mismatches between Kelce and shorter linebackers and defensive backs.
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Kelce may be large, but he is not slow by any stretch of the imagination, with a recorded 4.61 40 yard dash time. Kelce also has a 35 inch vertical jump, making it easy for Mahomes to toss him the ball in contested situations and expect him to come down with the ball.