Travis Kelce not named No. 1 tight end by Pro Football Focus | Sporting News

Chiefs veteran tight end Travis Kelce has been at the peak of the position for the past six years.

He’s led the league in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and receptions among tight ends since 2017 by a healthy margin — nearly 2,200 more yards, 20 more touchdowns and almost 300 more receptions than the next closest players.

Kelce will be 35 in October, though, and already showed signs of slowing down in 2023 after he missed his first game due to injury in Week 1 and finished with fewer than 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since 2015 (he finished with 984) and his fewest receiving touchdowns (five) since 2019. The Chiefs still gave a new contract that made him the highest-paid player at his position this season.

His time at the top of the tight end food chain could be coming to a close soon, just as the Chiefs begin their quest to win a third consecutive Super Bowl.

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Pro Football Focus’ John Kosko believes Kelce has already been supplanted as the best tight end in the NFL even before the 2024 season. Kosko ranked all 32 starting tight ends in the league and placed Kelce as the No. 2 player at the position.

The player above him? None other than 49ers tight end George Kittle, who will be 31 in October.

Kittle was the NFL’s highest-graded tight end in 2023 at 87.7 overall, while Kelce finished second at 82.6. Kittle’s run-blocking grade also dwarfed Kelce’s, 81.1 to 46.9.

Their overall grades over the past three years are identical at 91.6. Kelce gets the nod in receiving grade (92.2 vs. 91.4), but Kittle’s grade in the run game is far superior (80.8 vs. 56.0).

In the end, there is little doubt who the best two tight ends have been over the past three to five years. Kelce’s receiving ability is invaluable to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, while Kittle’s overall game is a perfect fit for Kyle Shannahan’s diversified run game and play-action pass attack.

This assessment effectively came down to which tight end plays the position the best — not which player has the best production. Both are among the elite in the league, but Kittle proved invaluable as an in-line blocker as well as a pass-catcher. Kelce, meanwhile, is Mahomes’ No. 1 pass-catching option.

It’s an opinion that NFL purists may share, but fantasy football players might not. Kelce is the cream of the crop in terms of his ability to directly affect a game with his catching and running ability. It’s why the Chiefs were able to still win two Super Bowls despite trading Tyreek Hill and replacing him with a bunch of mediocre players.

While Kittle may begin the year as PFF’s top tight end, Kelce could just as easily regain his spot at the top before the season is over.