In the argument of who the NFL’s greatest tight end ever is, Shannon Sharpe has a legitimate claim to being the best thanks to three Super Bowl rings and a gold jacket from Canton, among other accolades.
But in the face of the growing legacy being built by the NFL’s current best tight end, Sharpe is willing to concede that title to Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaking on the Kelce brothers’ “New Heights” podcast, Sharpe explained why he believes Travis Kelce is the NFL’s best tight end ever, specifically citing Kelce’s performances in the playoffs that have helped the Chiefs reach the Super Bowl three times in the past four seasons – with two wins.
“The thing that I love most about him – You look at the regular season numbers, and he’s better in the postseason than he is the regular season,” Sharpe said. “What we call him is a big game. The bigger the moment, the bigger he plays. Who the hell you think Patrick’s gonna throw the ball to? He’ll throw it to him. They know that, 80,000 people know that, Patrick Mahomes knows that, he knows they’re throwing the ball, and the defense knows he’s gonna get the ball.
“And somehow he still finds a way to come down with the football. When it’s all said and done, I don’t know how you make an argument that says Trav isn’t the greatest tight end.”
The crux of Sharpe’s argument revolves around Kelce’s postseason history. Kelce is the NFL’s all-time leader in postseason receptions (133) and postseason receiving touchdowns (16) by a tight end. In the 2022 playoffs alone, Kelce scored a touchdown in each of the Chiefs’ three wins and had 14 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns in the Divisional Round.
“You never come out of a playoff game where you watch Kansas City and you say ‘Man, Trav didn’t have it today,'” Sharpe said. “He give you that work every single game.”
Interestingly, Sharpe’s last statement was met with a bit of a correction by Travis Kelce himself, who pointed out that he missed the second half of a 2017 Wild Card loss to the Tennessee Titans after suffering a concussion.
“I can tell you one: I got knocked the f-k out against Tennessee and I did not show up that second half,” Kelce laughed. “No, I don’t remember that, that’s the thing. I was concussed, Unc.”
Last season, Kelce surpassed Sharpe for fourth all-time on the NFL’s tight end receiving list with 10,344 yards. Kelce is now only behind third-place Antonio Gates, second-place Jason Witten and all-time leading receiver Tony Gonzalez.
