Gronk Had the Perfect Answer When Asked if Travis Kelce is the GOAT of Tight Ends

Anthony Nesmith. Shutterstock Images.

I get that we live in a world of superlatives, where everyone and everything has to be measured against the height of excellence and we're way too eager to declare them the best ever. It's part of the culture. What we have to do to draw attention in a noisy world. After all, no one ever held an audience's attention with a debate on sports cable with, "Is Shohei Ohtani the 18th best player in Major League history?" 

So, with Travis Kelce currently taking up all the oxygen in America, it was only natural that Ryen Russillo would ask Rob Gronkowski the obvious question. And his answer was not only diplomatic as hell, it was the perfect football analysis:

Question: "Are you better than Kelce?"

Gronk: “I would say, in a different aspect. I believe that Travis Kelce is the best receiving tight end. He’s the best tight end in terms of catching the ball. There's no doubt about it. You can't even argue. He's had seven 1,000-yard seasons in a row. …

“Just the way that I played the game, Old School-style. It’s an argument that I don’t want to make the final decision on. It’s an argument on what type of offense you’re in, what type of style you have in the game, how they’re featuring you, what type of system you’re in."

This is no slight to Kelce. Though if I were a Chiefs fan over the age of say, 35, I'd be arguing that he's got a long way to go for me to consider him better than Tony Gonzalez yet, who is Top 10 in some receiving categories all time, regardless of position:

But the point Gronk is making is that he played a different position than Kelce entirely. The game evolves. Positions and responsibilities change. Some become virtually extinct, like fullback. And that's fine. It's the natural progression of things. Kelce was born at exactly the right time to slip into the role of hybrid TE/WR that didn't really exist 10 years ago. Or if it did, it was rare. And played by unique talents like Kellen Winslow. And you could argue that Kelce has played that particular role of detached TE better than anyone ever has. Which is terrific. Good on him. 

Just don't ever mistake what he does for what Gronk did. He was a tight end in the true tradition. The one that goes back to the true greats like Mike Ditka, Dave Casper, Ozzie Newsom, Keith Jackson, Russ Francis (RIP). Guys who'd be called on to blow defensive ends off the line on 1st down, bounce outside to take on the outside linebacker on a screen pass on 2nd, then on 3rd beat the strong safety on a seam route. To be a third tackle and a third receiver at the same time. Without the luxury of getting split outside the numbers and lineup opposite a cornerback half his size. Though Gronk did pioneering work on that as well. 

And make no mistake, Gronk was a third tackle, just one who was uncoverable in the passing game as well. In terms of Pro Football Focus blocking grades, he was consistently in the Top 35 among all tight ends, including the non-route runners, your Michael Hoomanawanui types. In the 2014 Super Bowl season, he was ranked 12th. In his injury-shortened 2016 championship season, he was 7th. Even as his body began to break down in the 2018 title year, when his receiving duties were scaled back, he was still 33rd best in the league as the Pats relied more on the run game with Sony Michel.

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Kelce has never had that be part of his game and never will. In tight end terms, he's a specialist. So comparing him to Gronk is like comparing David Ortiz' offensive numbers to a catcher's. One gets to be a one-trick pony, the other has other duties. Responsibilities that beat the bejeebers out his body on every play. The sooner we all recognize that, the better we can have a conversation about where Travis Kelce stands in the grand scheme of things. 

I stand with Gronk.