This Sunday, Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs' star tight end will play in his 4th superbowl, possibly earning a championship ring for the third time. Kelce has dominated in the league in recent years. Due to the extensive media coverage on him and his girlfriend, widely-renowned singer Taylor Swift, he is now a household name known by both football and music fans. Regarded as one of the best tight ends in NFL history, Kelce holds the record for most consecutive seasons with 1,000+ receiving yards in a season by a tight end (seven seasons) and as of now, has 77 career touchdowns. The key words are: “ONE OF THE BEST,” not “THE BEST.” Because before Travis Kelce, there was #87: Robert James Gronkowski. 

As annoying as it was for most of the country, the New England Patriots had what was recognized as the strongest “dynasty” in NFL history. Winning 6 super bowls under legendary coach, Bill Belichick, led by the great quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, and who I think is the best tight end of all time. Even if Gronk is not recognized as number 1, the tight end debate between Gronk and Kelce should be cut and dry. 

Most Kelce fans/Swifties recognize Travis Kelce as their GOAT above Gronk, with their strongest argument for Kelce being “the stats don’t lie.” But, what exactly do these “stats” tell us? Gronkowski ended his career with 621 receptions for 9,286 yards and 92 touchdowns (143 games). Kelce has 907 receptions for 11,328 yards and 74 touchdowns in 159 games, with assumingly more to come. As for receiving, Kelce blows Gronkowski out of the water and is still going. 

The role of a tight-end in football varies from team to team, but ultimately is agreed upon as a hybrid between a receiver and an offensive lineman. Sure, Kelce plays a significant role in offensive progression for the Chiefs. But the reason Kelce takes the tight-end spotlight and is picked in the first round of every fantasy football draft is because of the way he is used. In his career, Gronkowski has lined up “in-line” 60% of the time. Meaning, Gronk is lined up to block upcoming defensive players way more than half the time. While Gronkowski only lines up as a slot receiver 29.8% of the time and out wide 8.8%, Kelce does not spend much of his time near the linemen. Kelce (from his 2013-2022 seasons), lines up as a slot receiver 30.8% of the time and out wide 21.3% of the time. While only being in the line 46.6% of the time, you’ll most likely see Travis Kelce running a route rather than blocking anybody. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Travis Kelce is a bad player. It just means that the way the team uses him is wildly different than what is expected from a traditional tight end. Of course, Kelce would have more receptions and yards if he’s not blocking half the time. Even when he does block, it’s nothing to write home about. Rarely do people say that Kelce’s blocking ability is way above average and the PFF grades show it. Gronk’s career pass block and run block grades are 69.2 and 71.4 respectively while Kelce’s are 65.5 and 66.7. 

Kelce’s RECORDS for blocking don’t even compare to what Gronk achieved in seasons. Kelce’s record for pass-block snaps is 59. Gronk has 7 seasons with at least that AND 4 seasons with more run-block snaps than Kelce’s career high, 359. 

Gronkowski’s superiority isn’t just because he was more dominant or a better blocker, but also because, while he was menacing as the 6th lineman, he was also a scoring machine, with more overall touchdowns, more touchdowns in a season, more yards after catch, and two more super bowls.