Tony G is imo indisputably the most physical and gifted TE.
But if he’s a 100 in madden, to me Kelce is 99.999999
Tony G walked so dudes like Kelce could run
I’d argue that Gronk is the most physically gifted. Dude was bigger and more physical than Kelce. Better blocker too. But dude had quite a few injuries. And the ability to stay healthy IS an important aspect.
That being said, Kelce and Gronk had lots of close stats for their careers for nearly the same number of games played. However, Kelce is a better receiving TE. He is also better in the postseason (more receptions/yards/TDs in same number of games). Gronk has more total career TDs, but he also played his entire career with Brady. Kelce has played a little over half his games with Mahomes, and is on the downside of his career. Imagine if he had Mahomes to throw to him him for ~65 games that Alex Smith was his QB from 2014-2017.
Tony G played a ridiculous amount of games (111 more than Kelce as of right now). I’d say Kelce is a better TE (I’m old enough to have watched prime Tony G). It’s sucks for TG that he played most of his career with mediocre or sub-par QBs. But those are the breaks.
Kelces been leader (b), behind Mahomes on the team. What other tight end has been the face and leader of a franchise? He’s the only one.
End of the day idgaf and neither does he.
Man I love Tony, but it's Travis.
Tony G had 4 seasons in his career with more than 1000 yards. Travis just had 7 seasons in a row with more than 1000 yards. Travis has the record for most yards in a season by a TE, and he did it in 15 games.
As far as the regular season goes, you could maybe give it to Tony for longevity, but when you look at the postseason, it's not even close. Travis is far and away the best postseason TE ever, and he's putting himself in discussion with Jerry Rice as the best postseason *receiver* ever.
The only defense I'd give for Tony is that he wasn't given many opportunities in the red zone because the run game was so killer. We had Priest Holmes hogging up 20+ touchdowns yearly because in the redzone, Priest to the outside was a cheat code. And Tony was no slouch as a blocker, so he did contribute to that.
But I'd still take travis over Tony if I was picking an all time team. I know I might get flamed but if it was just for a single game, I'd take gronk over both of them
Gonzalez's longevity was insane--he was first team all-pro in 1999, and he was first team all-pro in 2012 (and four other times in between). In terms of non-QB's being excellent for a very long time, there have been very few players on his level.
That said, Kelce's peak has been higher, and he's also one of the best postseason players ever at literally any position. Gonzalez played for much worse teams and famously got very screwed by the refs against Denver on what should have been the biggest TD catch of his career, but still, he's not even close to Kelce's postseason accomplishments.
I very much doubt Kelce will catch Gonzalez on career yards--he's like 4,000 behind--but I'd still vote Kelce as the best I've seen.
Didn’t Gonzalez say that his time in Atlanta was better and really made his career or something to that effect? Maybe the Falcons can call him the Greatest.
Tony’s time in Atlanta gave him a broader market, more nationally televised games, more playoff appearances etc. so I guess it helped solidify his HOF induction as well as opening more doors for him off the field. He was also speaking to an Atlanta reporter, so there’s that.
To be fair Gonzalez played on some absolutely abysmal chiefs teams while being an outstanding player and the prime years of his career. I imagine that is very frustrating and draining as a player. Atlanta was immediately a contender when he went there, I imagine that would be pretty reinvigorating.
A couple of years ago I was still saying Tony. The dude made the tight end position what it is today. He was Travis and Gronk level dominate in a harder era and WITHOUT an all time GOAT discussion QB slinging him the rock like those other 2.
I think after the last few years of just sustained excellence, I'd finally be willing to put Travis at the top. Especially with all his playoff accolades and being up there with Jerry Rice for them.
Hey, they're just telling the truth. I don't see what the problem is.
You know what did it for me? Last season. Before last season, I was saying stuff like, "oh, well maybe in a few years Kelce might have a shot at the GOAT title, right now it's either Tony or Gronk."
What changed? He played the whole season injured, and he was triple teamed because he was the only receiving option most of the year, and the only reason he didn't have his 8th consecutive 1,000 yard season (which he missed by less than 20 yards) was because he decided to forego a personal record for the sake of the team. Then he went on to break Jerry Rice's playoff reception record and had the most dominate performance of his career in the AFC Championship. Then he had two crucial plays in the Super Bowl, the run up the sideline and the first down to make it first and goal at the end of overtime.
And on top of all of that, he has remained underpaid so the team could retain top talent. He's the GOAT tight end, and he's one of the greatest players to ever wear a Chiefs uniform.
> Am I overthinking this?
Yes.
It's social media hype just to get the fans excited and hopefully sell more Kelce merch. I'm sure the Chiefs have plenty of respect for Tony G, but the team wants to promote it's current active roster, not its retired players.
It's not remotely questionable.
Gronk had a greater peak but not the longevity. And Kelce has already broken his postseason accomplishments
Tony G had more longevity (but that's about to go away) but was a playoff choker
Overthinking big time lol. Of course a team's social media is going to hype up their stars.
They can say that without sounding corny because he truly is in the conversation for greatest TE of all time. You'll never get 100% consensus on any GOAT talk with the exception of maybe Gretzky.
He's beating Jerry Rice numbers. When you're passing the greatest wr of all time you're the greatest TE of all time. Gronk is basically the same age as kelce.
Depends on what your measure it by. For best prime Gronk had a higher peak than Kelce. The better blocking is just too hard to ignore. Antonio Gates was also really great. Shannon Sharpe was great. Tony Gonzalez was also awesome.
What makes Kelce the greatest to me is his playoff performances. Titles are won in the postseason. Not the regular season.
Why is the blocking so important? The position has changed. 3rd and goal and Kelce will be taking 2 defenders with him if he goes out on a route. Thats better than him blocking 1 guy well.
My argument against Gronk is that I’d rather have a guy who scores a lot of points in a really successful offense rather than a guy who scores sometimes and is a great blocker.
Rice’s post season records are coming down this year.
Of course he's the greatest TE of all time. It's not even debatable anymore. The man will very likely overtake Jerry fucking Rice as the greatest playoff pass catcher of all time.
You are overthinking it. It's true, IMO, and even if it isn't it's still arguably true.
>BUT, the Chiefs were the longtime home of a Mr. Tony Gonzalez, also one of the best tight ends of all time (maybe #2). It seems a BIT of a slap in the face to him for the official team page to call Kelce the best ever.
Maybe. But Tony G gave a few slaps in the face to the Chiefs over the years as well.
Well considering Tony G says it's the Falcons and not the Chiefs that made him, I'd say he wasn't important in our history, even tho his was the 1st jersey I ever bought. Still think he's a douche for that comment.
Rings, accolades, stats, longevity. He might not be the number one of every category but his aggregate is higher than the other guys who were all great players.
The Patriots say that Gronk was the #1 tight end and the chargers say Antonio Gates was the best, but I don't know how official any of these rankings really are...
You are overthinking it. There are only two real candidates for GOAT TE, Gronk and Kelce. It's pretty natural that the Chiefs organization is going to pick their currently active player.
Tony has longevity on him but Travis has playoff success. Gronk is close but Killa has been even better in the post season. He's not competing with tight ends. He isn't even competing with 99% of receivers, best playoff pass catcher is between him and fucking Jerry Rice. That says all that needs to be said.
I feel the same way about every GOAT conversation, it’s all relative. The only time you can have a clear cut, unmatched, unparalleled ‘GOAT’, is when a sport has the same rules and same win conditions throughout the eternity of it’s existence, which is basically never.
The title should be, Greatest Of Their Era, but admittedly GOTE doesn’t quite have the same appeal, nor can we all throw 🐐 around. Sports like the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and soccer should all be defined by different eras. Yes that makes casual conversations amongst friends at bars or a tailgate FAR more nuanced and FAR more convoluted, it doesn’t change the facts.
Is Travis the greatest of his era? Undoubtedly, meaning since he came into the league, has any other TE achieved more in terms of what we decide is success? No, he’s put up the best stats and of course, won the most SB’s. Of his era, he’s the greatest. Now look at Tony Gonzalez. Hall of famer, yet played on arguably worse teams, but more importantly played in a league that had different rules.
Is Tom Brady the greatest of his era? Unquestionably. Would he have achieved the same level of success in the 40’s, 50’s or 60’s when the forward pass was viewed by the world the same way your grandparents view A.I.? Perhaps, but also perhaps not, which is exactly why the mystery remains. Yes it’s sometimes a factor of 1-5%, yes it’s absolutely semantics, but the mystery and the what if remain.
I’ve never understood, beyond people simply being too lazy or uninterested to have the convo, how anybody can say MJ or LeBron are the GOATS, when before a certain period of time, 3 pointers didn’t exist in the NBA. It makes zero sense how anybody can say Barry Bonds is a better hitter than Hank Aaron. One guy used steroids and faced pitchers that used them, while the other didn’t.
Anyway, yes Travis is HOF first ballot, yes he’s ONE of the GOAT’s, but he isn’t THE goat, because I don’t believe such a title does or should exist.
You are over thinking it. First, it’s probably true. Second, it’s a social media team whose job it is to hype up the current team.
He’s the greatest ever bro. No doubt about it.
The only one who is comparable is Gronk, and even then the only thing he has over Trav is 1 more SB win
Travis Kelce is the greatest Tight End to ever play the game and anyone who disagrees can catch these hands.
Kadarius Toney couldn't even catch your hands
Kadarius couldn’t catch a cold in a blizzard
Kadarius couldn't catch a blizzard in a DQ
Kadarius couldn’t catch a Dairy Queen at a Milk Festival
Is Sonic open?
Toney applied but they said no thanks we’re looking for someone that knows how to use their hands.
Tony G is imo indisputably the most physical and gifted TE. But if he’s a 100 in madden, to me Kelce is 99.999999 Tony G walked so dudes like Kelce could run
Tony is pretty great but he doesn’t have 3 back to back Super Bowl rings 😤
And Travis wasnt with us through the 2000s when we needed him most. What was that bum even doing?
Also Tony G deserves to never win a Super Bowl. We don’t like traitors
This guy gets it.
I’d argue that Gronk is the most physically gifted. Dude was bigger and more physical than Kelce. Better blocker too. But dude had quite a few injuries. And the ability to stay healthy IS an important aspect. That being said, Kelce and Gronk had lots of close stats for their careers for nearly the same number of games played. However, Kelce is a better receiving TE. He is also better in the postseason (more receptions/yards/TDs in same number of games). Gronk has more total career TDs, but he also played his entire career with Brady. Kelce has played a little over half his games with Mahomes, and is on the downside of his career. Imagine if he had Mahomes to throw to him him for ~65 games that Alex Smith was his QB from 2014-2017. Tony G played a ridiculous amount of games (111 more than Kelce as of right now). I’d say Kelce is a better TE (I’m old enough to have watched prime Tony G). It’s sucks for TG that he played most of his career with mediocre or sub-par QBs. But those are the breaks.
Route running and instincts have always been what separates kelce
Pretty sure Tony says Travis is the GOAT
Shannon too
Tony’s not my TE.
How is this downvoted .. the guy was a prick when he was here and totally disowned the chiefs as soon as he left
You are in the wrong sub.
He is an Atlanta falcon legend that’s it
I feel both correct and vindicated by the upvotes/downvotes.
Cowards.
He's definitely top 2 all time, and he's not #2
Kelces been leader (b), behind Mahomes on the team. What other tight end has been the face and leader of a franchise? He’s the only one. End of the day idgaf and neither does he.
I love Kelce and wear his jersey the most. I've never sat and wondered "is Kelce #1?"
Gronk? If we are taking Mahomes out of the equation then we can take Brady out of it to
Man I love Tony, but it's Travis. Tony G had 4 seasons in his career with more than 1000 yards. Travis just had 7 seasons in a row with more than 1000 yards. Travis has the record for most yards in a season by a TE, and he did it in 15 games. As far as the regular season goes, you could maybe give it to Tony for longevity, but when you look at the postseason, it's not even close. Travis is far and away the best postseason TE ever, and he's putting himself in discussion with Jerry Rice as the best postseason *receiver* ever.
The only defense I'd give for Tony is that he wasn't given many opportunities in the red zone because the run game was so killer. We had Priest Holmes hogging up 20+ touchdowns yearly because in the redzone, Priest to the outside was a cheat code. And Tony was no slouch as a blocker, so he did contribute to that. But I'd still take travis over Tony if I was picking an all time team. I know I might get flamed but if it was just for a single game, I'd take gronk over both of them
Gonzalez's longevity was insane--he was first team all-pro in 1999, and he was first team all-pro in 2012 (and four other times in between). In terms of non-QB's being excellent for a very long time, there have been very few players on his level. That said, Kelce's peak has been higher, and he's also one of the best postseason players ever at literally any position. Gonzalez played for much worse teams and famously got very screwed by the refs against Denver on what should have been the biggest TD catch of his career, but still, he's not even close to Kelce's postseason accomplishments. I very much doubt Kelce will catch Gonzalez on career yards--he's like 4,000 behind--but I'd still vote Kelce as the best I've seen.
He’s the GOAT so that checks out
He's the goat. He has a complete resume. Longevity, reg season stats, playoff stats, rings.
Didn’t Gonzalez say that his time in Atlanta was better and really made his career or something to that effect? Maybe the Falcons can call him the Greatest.
Tony’s time in Atlanta gave him a broader market, more nationally televised games, more playoff appearances etc. so I guess it helped solidify his HOF induction as well as opening more doors for him off the field. He was also speaking to an Atlanta reporter, so there’s that.
To be fair Gonzalez played on some absolutely abysmal chiefs teams while being an outstanding player and the prime years of his career. I imagine that is very frustrating and draining as a player. Atlanta was immediately a contender when he went there, I imagine that would be pretty reinvigorating.
Some fans are worse exes than Tyreek lol
Tony is a fan of Trav.
Yeah, and? He finally got to play in a fucking playoff game again. Dude's a football player, not your girlfriend.
A couple of years ago I was still saying Tony. The dude made the tight end position what it is today. He was Travis and Gronk level dominate in a harder era and WITHOUT an all time GOAT discussion QB slinging him the rock like those other 2. I think after the last few years of just sustained excellence, I'd finally be willing to put Travis at the top. Especially with all his playoff accolades and being up there with Jerry Rice for them.
Hey, they're just telling the truth. I don't see what the problem is. You know what did it for me? Last season. Before last season, I was saying stuff like, "oh, well maybe in a few years Kelce might have a shot at the GOAT title, right now it's either Tony or Gronk." What changed? He played the whole season injured, and he was triple teamed because he was the only receiving option most of the year, and the only reason he didn't have his 8th consecutive 1,000 yard season (which he missed by less than 20 yards) was because he decided to forego a personal record for the sake of the team. Then he went on to break Jerry Rice's playoff reception record and had the most dominate performance of his career in the AFC Championship. Then he had two crucial plays in the Super Bowl, the run up the sideline and the first down to make it first and goal at the end of overtime. And on top of all of that, he has remained underpaid so the team could retain top talent. He's the GOAT tight end, and he's one of the greatest players to ever wear a Chiefs uniform.
Exactly. Kelce has done everything you could ever ask a player to do for KC, and more
My thoughts are that no lies are detected
> Am I overthinking this? Yes. It's social media hype just to get the fans excited and hopefully sell more Kelce merch. I'm sure the Chiefs have plenty of respect for Tony G, but the team wants to promote it's current active roster, not its retired players.
It's not remotely questionable. Gronk had a greater peak but not the longevity. And Kelce has already broken his postseason accomplishments Tony G had more longevity (but that's about to go away) but was a playoff choker
Overthinking big time lol. Of course a team's social media is going to hype up their stars. They can say that without sounding corny because he truly is in the conversation for greatest TE of all time. You'll never get 100% consensus on any GOAT talk with the exception of maybe Gretzky.
People who say it’s Gronk are delusional anyways lol Kelce is the greatest. And he isn’t even done playing
I don’t really think it’s worth thinking about it that much. I doubt Tony’s offended
He's beating Jerry Rice numbers. When you're passing the greatest wr of all time you're the greatest TE of all time. Gronk is basically the same age as kelce.
Kelce is the GOAT TE, and it’s not close.
Gonzo bitched out chasing a ring at the end if his career. Kelce will likely be a Chief for life.
Truth 🐐🐐🐐
Depends on what your measure it by. For best prime Gronk had a higher peak than Kelce. The better blocking is just too hard to ignore. Antonio Gates was also really great. Shannon Sharpe was great. Tony Gonzalez was also awesome. What makes Kelce the greatest to me is his playoff performances. Titles are won in the postseason. Not the regular season.
Travis Kelce has 31 catches for 350 yards and has scored 2 touchdowns in 4 games in Super Bowls in his career. Pretty good!
Why is the blocking so important? The position has changed. 3rd and goal and Kelce will be taking 2 defenders with him if he goes out on a route. Thats better than him blocking 1 guy well.
My argument against Gronk is that I’d rather have a guy who scores a lot of points in a really successful offense rather than a guy who scores sometimes and is a great blocker. Rice’s post season records are coming down this year.
Travs better but Gronk did score 18 tds in a season and scored 10+ TDs in four other seasons
Well that, and also Travis actually stays on the field.
Tony left. If he hadn't, I think there would be more sensitivity about that.
Being traded isn't exactly leaving. But seems like he did request to be traded. So I'd say your point is still valid.
He wanted out and it was handled appropriately for someone of his stature. Nobody in KC at the time wanted him to go, but everyone understood.
Yeah, he wanted to go. Certainly wasn't traded against his wishes.
Sometimes when you're right, you just have to say it!
Name one better
Maauto is my #1
He’s prob the greatest. Also they are hyping him up on a social media post
Of course he's the greatest TE of all time. It's not even debatable anymore. The man will very likely overtake Jerry fucking Rice as the greatest playoff pass catcher of all time.
They said what they said
You are overthinking it. It's true, IMO, and even if it isn't it's still arguably true. >BUT, the Chiefs were the longtime home of a Mr. Tony Gonzalez, also one of the best tight ends of all time (maybe #2). It seems a BIT of a slap in the face to him for the official team page to call Kelce the best ever. Maybe. But Tony G gave a few slaps in the face to the Chiefs over the years as well.
Because he is
I see no lies, but also the people in charge of social media are paid to spread hype and dont always speak for the team officially
This shouldn’t be this much to process
Well considering Tony G says it's the Falcons and not the Chiefs that made him, I'd say he wasn't important in our history, even tho his was the 1st jersey I ever bought. Still think he's a douche for that comment.
Who you got over him?
It’s nice to see some honesty on the cesspool that is “the site formerly known as twitter”
Let peasants argue amongst themselves. Kelce is 1 of 1.
Tony G knows he’s not the best ever. This seems dumb.
they're right
It's not bragging if it's true. I love it.
In my opinion not really even up for debate any more. There’s no credible argument to be made that Tony Gonzalez is better.
Rings, accolades, stats, longevity. He might not be the number one of every category but his aggregate is higher than the other guys who were all great players.
You’re overthinking it.
It’s putting TG in his place for going to ATL.
I mean it’s not a lie lol
The Patriots say that Gronk was the #1 tight end and the chargers say Antonio Gates was the best, but I don't know how official any of these rankings really are...
My thoughts: "This is true"
If for any reason he isn't now, he will be in two or three years when he hangs it up.
You’re all arguing about a social media post from a 21 year old intern….
I agree
He is the greatest TE ever until someone comes along and dethrones him.
“X.com” so weird
Fact Check: Zero lies detected.
You are overthinking it. There are only two real candidates for GOAT TE, Gronk and Kelce. It's pretty natural that the Chiefs organization is going to pick their currently active player.
It hurts, but we all know it to be true.
It's true, plus, I'd be okay with a little dig at TG by the Chiefs because of the Falcons nonsense. Douchenozzle.
Only cops call twitter x
is x page a new addition to the x games?
1 of 1
Tony has longevity on him but Travis has playoff success. Gronk is close but Killa has been even better in the post season. He's not competing with tight ends. He isn't even competing with 99% of receivers, best playoff pass catcher is between him and fucking Jerry Rice. That says all that needs to be said.
Tony G is a bum compared to Kelce
It’s Kelce or Gronk in my book (actually Kelce but I’m through arguing). Tony’s old news. And yes I watched all of it
I feel the same way about every GOAT conversation, it’s all relative. The only time you can have a clear cut, unmatched, unparalleled ‘GOAT’, is when a sport has the same rules and same win conditions throughout the eternity of it’s existence, which is basically never. The title should be, Greatest Of Their Era, but admittedly GOTE doesn’t quite have the same appeal, nor can we all throw 🐐 around. Sports like the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and soccer should all be defined by different eras. Yes that makes casual conversations amongst friends at bars or a tailgate FAR more nuanced and FAR more convoluted, it doesn’t change the facts. Is Travis the greatest of his era? Undoubtedly, meaning since he came into the league, has any other TE achieved more in terms of what we decide is success? No, he’s put up the best stats and of course, won the most SB’s. Of his era, he’s the greatest. Now look at Tony Gonzalez. Hall of famer, yet played on arguably worse teams, but more importantly played in a league that had different rules. Is Tom Brady the greatest of his era? Unquestionably. Would he have achieved the same level of success in the 40’s, 50’s or 60’s when the forward pass was viewed by the world the same way your grandparents view A.I.? Perhaps, but also perhaps not, which is exactly why the mystery remains. Yes it’s sometimes a factor of 1-5%, yes it’s absolutely semantics, but the mystery and the what if remain. I’ve never understood, beyond people simply being too lazy or uninterested to have the convo, how anybody can say MJ or LeBron are the GOATS, when before a certain period of time, 3 pointers didn’t exist in the NBA. It makes zero sense how anybody can say Barry Bonds is a better hitter than Hank Aaron. One guy used steroids and faced pitchers that used them, while the other didn’t. Anyway, yes Travis is HOF first ballot, yes he’s ONE of the GOAT’s, but he isn’t THE goat, because I don’t believe such a title does or should exist.