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For a long time, former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was unanimously regarded as the league’s best tight end, and deservedly so. The future Pro Football Hall of Famer recently wrapped up a nine-season career totaling 521 receptions, 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns in the regular season.
For the past few seasons, a league-wide debate emerged as to whether Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had eclipsed Gronk. Kelce finished his third straight season with more than 1,000 yards of production in 2018, a feat Gronk only accomplished four times in nine years.
But now that Gronk is retired, is Kelce the league’s best tight end? Four anonymous NFL head coaches and four anonymous personnel members recently told ESPN’s Mike Sando yes (ESPN In$ider), with the Eagles’ Zach Ertz “close behind.”
The 49ers’ George Kittle, the Giants’ Evan Engram, the Bucs’ OJ Howard, the Eagles’ Dallas Goedert and the Ravens’ Mark Andrews were all named as players to watch. Two head coaches called Kelce a tougher matchup than Ertz.
Sando even offered a quote from Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
REID: “The best tight ends develop a trust with the quarterback, and then they have skill after the catch. Travis is phenomenal at that. He can do everything. He can block at the line of scrimmage, he is a great, great route runner, he can play inside, you can move him outside, we have had him in the backfield and he has a great feel for the game.”
Hey, ESPN... next time, tell us something we don’t already know.
Poll
Who is the NFL’s second-best tight end?
This poll is closed
-
41%
Eagles TE Zach Ertz
(402 votes) -
47%
49ers TE George Kittle
(465 votes) -
0%
Giants TE Evan Engram
(6 votes) -
8%
Browns TE Demetrius Harris
(78 votes) -
2%
Other
(21 votes)