Not No. 1? Travis Kelce Sits at Second in Pro Football Focus Tight End Rankings

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is a future Hall-of-Famer and arguably the best and most decorated tight end in NFL history, but is he the best TE currently playing? Not according to 2024 positional rankings from Pro Football Focus.

In PFF's tight end rankings, written by John Kosko, Kelce lands at No. 2, behind San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle:

Let's start this list with controversy. Kittle was the NFL's highest-graded tight end in 2023 at 87.7 overall, while Kelce finished second at 82.6. Kittle's run-blocking grade also dwarfed Kelce’s, 81.1 to 46.9.
Their overall grades over the past three years are identical at 91.6. Kelce gets the nod in receiving grade (92.2 vs. 91.4), but Kittle’s grade in the run game is far superior (80.8 vs. 56.0).
In the end, there is little doubt who the best two tight ends have been over the past three to five years. Kelce’s receiving ability is invaluable to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, while Kittle’s overall game is a perfect fit for Kyle Shannahan’s diversified run game and play-action pass attack.

Let's start with the agreeable part: With the way the 49ers and Chiefs offenses function, the Chiefs wouldn't swap Kelce for Kittle in 2024, and I'm not sure the 49ers would do the inverse. However, the implication that there's an argument as to who was the best tight end over "the past three to five years" is somewhat forced.

In the last five regular seasons (which ignores Kelce's historic postseason performances), Kittle has played 67 games and tallied 329 catches for 4,382 yards and 30 touchdowns. Kelce, almost exactly four years older, has played 79 games with 497 catches for 6,092 yards and 42 touchdowns.

Kelce has had better quarterback play during that period and I'm willing to give up some ground to the idea that Kittle is a better blocker than Kelce (he is, but Josh Allen is a better pure runner than Patrick Mahomes — that doesn't make Allen the better quarterback), so I find that distinction to be a bit silly most of the time.

With the age advantage going in Kittle's direction, I wouldn't lose any sleep over PFF's rankings, but it can be irksome when Kelce is discussed as some sort of incapable blocker while, in my opinion, clearly being the greatest pass-catching tight end of all time.

Read More: Travis Kelce Named PFF's 'Bounce-Back' Candidate for Chiefs