“I Was Hell When I Was Well”: Shannon Sharpe Reacts to Travis Kelce and George Kittle Joining Him in the GOAT Tight End Race

Tight ends have become more involved in the passing game throughout NFL history. In the early 2000s, fans saw Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten, and Antonio Gates rack up receiving production. From 2010 onward, Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce, and George Kittle have dominated the landscape. But before they all stepped on the NFL field, Shannon Sharpe set a new standard for tight ends.

Ahead of this week’s Thursday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers, NFL on Prime posted a graphic showing which tight ends had the most games of “150+ receiving yards” in NFL history. Kittle, after his 151-yard performance in Week 14, jumped into a tie with Kelce for the second-most such contests (5).

Sharpe, with six, still paces the position. Once he found the Twitter/X post on Tuesday evening, he took the opportunity to remind people just how talented he was in his heyday.

Fans were quick to recognize Sharpe’s greatness in his comments. One fan said Sharpe “revolutionized” the tight end position. Another user applauded him for putting up impressive numbers in an era with much greater defensive intensity.

When he retired following the 2003 season, Sharpe had the most receptions (815), yards (10,060) and touchdowns (62) by a tight end in NFL history. He also had the most first-team All-Pro nods (4) and Pro Bowl appearances (8) of any tight end to ever play once he hung up his cleats. Sharpe doesn’t hold those records anymore, but does still have the most yards in a single game (214) for a tight end.

Who is better positioned to match Shannon Sharpe’s record?

Kittle, by virtue of playing on Thursday, can tie Sharpe before Kelce. However, several factors make him more likely to match Sharpe than Travis. First, Kittle is four years younger (31) than the Chiefs TE (35). He’s also featured in a more explosive role within his offense than Kelce. This year, Kittle is averaging nearly six more yards per reception (14.3) than Kelce (8.5).

At this stage of his career, Kelce is more of a reliable chain mover than explosive for Patrick Mahomes. He’s capable of producing big plays, but has just one reception exceeding 30 yards this season. Kittle has recorded a gain of 30 yards or more in five of his past six games.

The absences of Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey, along with the relative ineffectiveness of Deebo Samuel over the past month, have allowed Kittle to thrive as a primary read for Brock Purdy. For the San Francisco 49ers to make an unlikely climb back into playoff positioning, they need Kittle to produce. That sheer desperation gives Kittle another leg up in equaling Sharpe.

If there’s an avenue for Kelce to beat Kittle to the punch, it is the target volume. He has five games with double-digit targets in 2024; Kittle has one. But right now, the Kansas City Chiefs are two games ahead of their closest AFC contenders for the No. 1 seed. They’d probably reduce Kelce’s role down the stretch in preparation for a playoff run before they pepper him with enough passes to clear the 150-yard threshold.

Could Mahomes throw to Kelce 20 times in one of these final regular season games? Anything is possible. But if either man is going to cross 150 yards down the stretch, Kittle would be the safer bet.