So I recently saw people debate which tight end is better all time, and I thought the main argument for Kelce would be that Gronk has had a HOF QB, throwing at him for his whole career, while Kelce has not.
Imagine to my surprise when they were trying to prove that Kelce is better statistically. Just off that statement I knew that they were incorrect, but I decided to take a gander anyway. So without further ado here is what I came up with.
All stats per Pro Football Reference.
Games played:
Gronkowski: 131 Games
Travis Kelce: 111 Games
Difference of 20
People are often shocked when they see only a 20 game difference when Gronk has played 3 seasons more. They usually forget that Gronk has been through dozens of injuries.
Games started:
Gronkowski: 116
Kelce: 104
Difference of 12
Games started is even closer with Gronk only starting 4 games short of a 16 game season more than Kelce.
Touchdowns:
Gronkowski: 86
Kelce: 48
Difference of 38
This one isn't too much of a shock people who argue for Kelce in this debate usually use yards and receptions instead of just touchdowns (Kelce isn't an end zone tight end). Still impressive to me that Gronk has 38 more touchdowns with only 20 games more.
Targets:
Gronkowski: 871
Kelce: 860
Difference of 11
Yup. This is the stat that shocked me. This is usually the stat shocks everyone and for good reason. People usually ignore targets, which made little sense to me, so when I saw that there was only a difference of 11 when Gronk has played 20 more games, that floored me.
Receptions:
Gronkowski: 566
Kelce: 612
Difference of 46
This is the stat that is highlighted in this debate if you are rooting for kelce. He has 46 more receptions with 11 targets less and 20 less games played. This stat is usually used to make the point that Kelce has better hands.
Yards:
Gronkowski: 8,484
Kelce: 7,881
Difference of 603
Despite having 46 less receptions and only 11 more targets, Gronk has 603 more yards. If kelce wanted to match Gronk with the same number of targets he would need to catch all 11 targets with each being about 55 yards. That's more than half the field each time.
Yards per Reception:
Gronkowski: 15.1
Kelce: 12.9
Difference of 2.0
Well this one isn't a surprise if you have been paying attention. Gronk gains 2.0 more yards every reception than Kelce does. This one matters most to me because receptions and yards tell an incomplete story in any NFL comparison. With a large enough sam
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This week's Superstar KO reward is a 93 OVR Travis Kelce item. You have 6 days from today to complete it and the requirement is getting 900 offensive yards.
FAQ:
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This card CANNOT go into either the Power Ups or any sets. I know these cards are basically unusable in game but at least you can quicksell it for 7050 training.
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When booting up Madden, after the "Press Any Button" screen, choose the Superstar KO tile. That's where you play the Superstar KO mode and earn the card. Once you've completed the requirement that card will then show up in your binder in the Ultimate Team mode.
Travis Kelce finished as the RB4, and WR3 in 2020 .5PPR formats. He is a no brainer top 5-8 re-draft selection going into 2021. It's absolutely insane how much of a positional advantage he gives you which I'm sure most know, but to see how he'd literally be a high end RB1 or WR1 in a league where we had a WR put up 18 TDs and a RB rush for 2000 yards really puts it in perspective.
In 2018, he finished as the RB7 and WR8 overall so this isn't some crazy outlier. 2019 he was a borderline WR1 and RB1 but Patrick Mahomes missed a quarter of that season due to a knee cap injury.
Every year I trick myself into thinking you need to start robust RB and often look at my mocks in the summer and not liking the appearance of my squads that don't feature 2 players I think could be RB1s for me. No longer making that mistake.
On the broadcast tonight Nantz and Romo mentioned that including playoffs, Kelce now has 10 straight games of 7+ receptions. In those 10 games, his numbers are 86 receptions, 1142 yards, and 9 TDs. Over a 16 game stretch, that pace is-- are you ready for this?-- 138 receptions for 1827 yards and 14-15 TDs.
This isn't some 2 game rate stat or 3 game rate stat, 10 games is a pretty significant sample. That stat line would obviously not only be the best TE season ever by about 5 country miles, but if I'm not mistaken, I believe it would top 2007 Randy Moss for the greatest fantasy season by any receiver ever (PPR).
He also now has 3+ receptions in 52 straight games and 1000+ yards in 5 straight seasons, both records for TEs. I'm sure you could pick out many, many more ways to state the historic nature of this season if you wanted to. Suffice it to say: if you want him, you're gonna need to pay dearly next year.
Not to mention the great trade for Alex Smith and drafting the best QB of the entire franchise.
Saw that they were there, just wondering why
Am I the only one who is tired of seeing Travis Kelce in what feels like every other promo. I know heβs the best TE but their are so many other TE that havenβt had cards since launch.
