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Going into Sunday’s matchup against the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was on the brink of two significant career milestones: exceeding 10,000 career receiving yards and collecting his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard season.
In the first quarter of the game, a 38-yard pass from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes pushed the All-Pro tight end over both of those thresholds.
Here’s the history making catch for Travis Kelce. Joining Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten, Shannon Sharpe and Antonio Gates #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/5OBAW7TRZv
— Harold R. Kuntz (@HaroldRKuntz3) December 11, 2022
Kelce becomes the 52nd player in NFL history to accumulate 10,000 career yards — and only the fifth tight end to do so. Going into Sunday, former Kansas City tight end Tony Gonzalez led that exclusive group with 15,127 yards — followed by Jason Witten (13,046), Antonio Gates (11,841) and Shannon Sharpe (10,060). With an 87-yard performance during Sunday’s game, Kelce will move ahead of Sharpe on the all-time tight end list.
According to Pro Football Reference, just 27 NFL players have ever had seven 1,000-yard seasons. Of those, only 10 have had seven consecutive 1,000-yard performances. Kelce now becomes the 11th player on that list, tied with four other players in fourth place for the longest streak of 1,000-yard seasons in NFL history.
- Jerry Rice (11) 1986-1996
- Tim Brown (9) 1993-2001
- Mike Evans (8) 2014-2021 (active)
- Torry Holt (8) 2000-2007
- Marvin Harrison (8) 1999-2006
- Cris Carter (8) 1993-2000
- Jimmy Smith (7) 1996-2002
- Brandon Marshall (7) 2007-2013
- Reggie Wayne (7) 2004-2010
- Lance Alworth (7) 1963-1969
- Travis Kelce (7) 2016-2022 (active)
Kelce is the only tight end among them. There have been 333 NFL players who have accumulated over 1,000 receiving yards in a season. Only 26 were tight ends. No other tight end has ever had more than four 1,000-yard seasons — much less seven.
With every career milestone that becomes visible in his rear-view mirror, it becomes more obvious that Kelce will one day be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The only remaining question may be whether his older brother — Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce — will get there first.
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