New England Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski is often recognized as the greatest tight end in NFL history. Perhaps his best competition to sitting on that throne has been Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
It’s a worthy competition between the two with Kelce being a three-time Super Bowl champion with 10 Pro Bowls and four First-Team All-Pro nods. Meanwhile, Gronkowski is a four-time Super Bowl champion with five Pro Bowls and four First-Team All-Pro nods.
He was also the receiving touchdowns leader in 2011.
Kelce has been a stat monster who sits behind only Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten with 12,151 career receiving yards. His 178 postseason receptions are more than any other player in NFL history. So why isn’t he universally viewed as having surpassed Gronkowski yet?
When appearing on Hot Ones Versus with his former teammate, Danny Amedola, Gronkowski looked into the camera and told Kelce what he needed to do to get on his level, all while eating some of the hottest wings in existence.
“You got to throw some [expletive] defenders out the club. Two, you need another Super Bowl ring,” said a struggling Gronkowski, while thanking Amendola for helping him with the answer. “Three, you got to party your face into the dirt with your fans.”
The first response by Gronkowski is probably the nail in the coffin for most in the tight end debate. Kelce is an incredible player and a future Hall of Famer, but his makeup as a player tends to lean more toward receiver than actual tight end.
Gronkowski was a big-play receiver downfield, but he was also a devastating blocker on the line. His combination of physicality and athleticism for a player at that position is unlike anything ever seen. It looked almost unfair at times watching him bully defenders and run through grown professional athletes like bowling pins.
That doesn’t minimize Kelce’s accomplishments at the very least. It’s simply a reminder of how different the two were as players, despite playing at the same position.
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
