Where Does Travis Kelce Rank Among NFL Tight Ends in 2026?

Entering his age-37 season, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been one of the best pass catchers in football for more than a decade of NFL action. After seven consecutive seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards from 2016 through 2022, Kelce has eclipsed 800 yards in each of the last three years.

The vast majority of NFL players are long retired by their mid-to-late-30s, but Kelce has remained Kansas City's most reliable receiving weapon years longer than most tight ends can stay on the field. (Kelce's closest modern peer, Rob Gronkowski, retired at age 29, returned, then retired again after his age-32 season.)

For those reasons (and many more), Kelce is a remarkably unique case. He could have retired years ago and still punched his ticket for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he's not coasting on his reputation.

Kelce has played at least 77% of the Chiefs' regular season offensive snaps every year since 2015, and that low mark came in 2023 when he appeared in 15 of KC's 17 games. He played 940 offensive snaps (84%) in 2024 and 902 (81%) in 2025.

While Kelce has seen his athleticism challenged by Father Time late in his remarkable career, there's no sign that the Chiefs are planning to throttle down his usage in what could be his last season.

He's backed up by Noah Gray, who always plays just over half of Kansas City's snaps but hasn't yet cracked 500 receiving yards in a single season. Gray's production dipped in 2025, when he reeled in 21 passes for just 178 yards and no touchdowns—his sparsest stat line since his rookie year. Behind Gray, third-year former fourth-round pick Jared Wiley has just two professional catches.

After a brief diversion in 2024, Mr. 52% returned last season! https://t.co/a25ym3U4Id pic.twitter.com/EgBmcLx4DR
— Joshua Brisco (@jbbrisco) July 12, 2026

That historical context explains Kelce's continued value, but what does the rest of the league see from the veteran?

In an annual exercise, ESPN surveyed coaches, executives and scouts from around the NFL to rank the 10 best players across 11 position groups. At tight end, Kelce landed just inside the top 10.

Amongst the surveyed, Kelce's highest spot was No. 5, while his lowest ranker(s) had him off the ballot entirely. After ranking No. 5 at his position in the same exercise last year, Kelce is No. 10 on the list for 2026.

"Kelce is utilizing the same skills other great tight ends -- Jason Witten and Tony Gonzalez -- did while prolonging their careers: Use route savvy to wiggle your way for first downs, hopefully with room to run," Jeremy Fowler wrote.

"Kelce is far from a burner at age 36, but it's hard to argue with his production last season. His 429 yards after the catch ranked third among this year's tight end candidate pool. Kelce was in better shape than the previous year and it showed, though nine drops were not ideal.

"'He's still the ageless wonder at the position,' an NFC personnel evaluator said. 'His elite route savvy, body control and instincts allow him to still compete at a high level, despite him getting up in age.'"

In our Chiefs On SI rankings of the best Chiefs players for the 2026 season, Kelce landed at No. 4. I would argue that Kelce should still be closer to the top five at his position, but the list is far from consensus, with tight end No. 4, Sam LaPorta, receiving votes as high as No. 3 while being entirely off the ballot for at least one voter.

At No. 3, George Kittle's blurb begins with "Injury, not age, is the thing holding Kittle back."

I find that to be a bit silly for a player seven spots above Kelce when Kelce has more receptions, receiving yards and yards per game since 2021 (a cutoff chosen to avoid Kittle's eight-game 2020 season). Kelce's age has been a talking point for a half-decade while he's remained remarkably productive.

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