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49ers tight end George Kittle doesn’t view Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce as a bitter rival. The two have always gotten along publicly, and Kittle even sent out a congratulatory tweet when Kelce broke the single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end which Kittle set in the 2018 season just hours after Kelce broke it.
This season hasn’t been Kittle’s best. He’s dealt with a pair of injuries that forced him to miss a total of eight games assuming he plays in the season finale vs. Seattle. In seven games he has 41 receptions for 566 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Kelce has been putting up elite WR numbers as a tight end. He’s been so good, in fact, Kittle believes he should be in the Offensive Player of the Year conversation.
"I think he should be up for Offensive Player of the Year for the things he’s doing as a tight end.”
–#49ers TE George Kittle on #Chiefs star Travis Kelce, who broke Kittle’s TE yardage record last week.
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) December 31, 2020
It’s hard to argue with Kittle. In just 15 games Kelce broken the yardage record for his position with 1,416 – 39 more than Kittle’s 1,377 yards in 2018. He’s fourth in the league in receptions, second in receiving yards and fifth in receiving touchdowns. He was also the most consistently dominant force on a team that cruised to the No. 1 seed in a very tough AFC.
While MVP is typically a quarterback award, OPOY is typically more liberal with its positional distribution. Saints WR Michael Thomas won it last season. Rams running back Todd Gurley took home the award in 2017. A tight end has never won the award.
While there’s no precedent for a TE winning it, there’s also no precedent for a TE having a season like the one Kelce has had. Sure, Kittle is going to be biased toward his fellow tight ends, but Kelce’s case for the award is pretty rock solid.