Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Bowl linebacker Ryan Shazier did one of those really cool “Five Toughest Guys I’ve Ever Faced” thing for the Players’ Tribune.
And when it came to tight end, Shazier gave props to Kansas City’s own.
“I really respect Gronk (Rob Gronkowski) and Jordan Reed because they’re like receivers and tight ends combined,” Shazier writes, “but I’m going to put Travis Kelce here, but he’s got all the tools, and he talks some pretty good smack, too.”
Shazier continued.
“A lot of X receivers will talk smack, but they’ll be doing it after they caught a ball on the sidelines. They won’t be in the middle of the field talking smack. Respect to Kelce, because he’s talking to you knowing that he’s gotta go over the middle again the very next play.”
As I’ve watched Chiefs games during the past three years, it’s been pretty evident that Kelce was talking the talk as he was walking the walk, but there’s just something about it being confirmed, y’know?
Shazier goes on in the piece to talk about the playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium last year, which, if you remember, was a mess.
“The grass was all chopped up, and it was super tough to make any cuts, especially for the heavier guys. But Kelce still grabbed five catches for 77 in that muck. I thought that was really impressive.”
Upon seeing the piece, Kelce gave Shazier a shout on Twitter:
Much respect big dawg!! https://t.co/GqBxlXg2ug
— Travis Kelce (@tkelce) July 20, 2017
They’ll meet again Week 6 this season at Arrowhead Stadium.