2. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
“No. No I don’t want to. You can’t make me choose between them. I’m make this a tie, I swear I will.”
Okay, so that is not technically a direct quote from me to my editors when given this assignment, but it is pretty darn close.
Look, both Travis Kelce and George Kittle are transcendent players at the position. They both do everything you want and more from a tight end. For years, the knock on Kelce was that he was not a great blocker, but over his time in Kansas City he has worked mightily on his craft, and has become better in that facet of the game as well. Making this decision even harder is the fact that both players operate under coaches that put them in positions to be successful. Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy put get Kelce a ton of favorable matchups, and having weapons like Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman certainly helps. Kyle Shanahan’s route designs do wonders for Kittle.
In the end, Kittle is four years younger, so he’s got more football ahead of him. A copout? Perhaps. But as these lists are also forward-thinking in nature, ask yourself this: If you could choose between the two to build an offense around for the next five years, which player are you picking?
But these are both great, great players. Kelce is such a weapon in the passing game that putting him atop this list is a certainly reasonable position.