Travis Kelce More Vital to Chiefs Than Patrick Mahomes, Rob Gronkowski Says

Let the great tight end debate continue.

Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce are widely considered two of the greatest players at their position in NFL history. But which future Hall of Fame tight end is better? Gronkowski took a shot at answering that question during the latest episode of The Ryen Russillo Podcast, which dropped Wednesday night. And he wasn’t shy about praising the competition.

“Are you better than Kelce?” Russillo asked his guest.

“Oh, man,” Gronkowski responded. “That question. You’re just throwing it right out there. I would say in a different aspect. I believe that Travis Kelce is the best receiving tight end. If you’re talking about a tight end, he’s the best tight end in terms of catching the ball. There’s no doubt about it. You can’t even argue.”

Gronkowski won four Super Bowls and caught 92 regular-season touchdowns across 11 seasons with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kelce, an eight-time Pro Bowler, is in his 11th year with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Here’s a closer look at how the two tight ends think of their comparison, including why Gronkowski believes Kelce is even more crucial to the Chiefs than quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Kelce More Valuable Than Mahomes? Gronk Says So

Gronkowski entered the NFL as a second-round pick and quickly took over.

After catching 10 touchdowns during his rookie season in 2010, the University of Arizona player set tight end records with 1,327 yards and 17 receiving touchdowns in his second year. Tom Brady throwing to Gronkowski became one of the most prolific connections in NFL history. The 6-foot-6 tight end played nine seasons with Brady in New England before taking a year off and following the QB to Tampa Bay for two more years.

Despite a lengthy list of injuries, Gronkowski had 621 catches for 9,286 yards and four first-team All-Pro honors at the time of his second retirement after the 2021 season.

Gronkowski described himself to Russillo as an old-school tight end who could thrive just as much blocking defensive ends as he could beating linebackers in coverage. The type of system would matter, Gronkowski said, when determining if he or Kelce was the better tight end.

But most of Gronkowski’s answer was spent praising Kelce.

The former Patriot raved about the longevity of Kelce’s career and how he manages to take his game to a new level season after season. As Gronkowski highlighted during his podcast appearance, Kelce’s seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons are the most ever for a tight end. The two-time Super Bowl champion set career highs a season ago in receptions (110) and touchdowns (12).

To Gronkowski, Kelce is the most valuable part of a high-powered Chiefs offense. Even more so than Mahomes, a two-time MVP quarterback.

“When [Kelce’s] not out on the field for the Kansas City Chiefs, which is very rare, they’re not the same team,” Gronkowski said. “They’re better off having the backup quarterback with Travis Kelce on the field than Travis Kelce not on the field with Patrick Mahomes on the field. That’s how much Travis Kelce means to the Kansas City Chiefs.”

Gronkowski Used Kelce as Motivation

The comparisons between Gronkowski and Kelce make sense because the similarities are there.

Both players wear, or wore, No. 87. Both players are 34 (even though Gronkowski entered the NFL three years earlier). And both Kelce and Gronkowski happen to be some of the most dominant players of the past few decades.

When Gronkowski joined Travis and Jason Kelce on their New Heights podcast earlier this year, Jason compared the tight ends to Kobe Bryan and LeBron James. Anytime one of them accomplishes something or is mentioned, the other is brought up. That’s just the nature of this friendly rivalry. During that episode, Gronkowski was asked if he gets annoyed with the constant comparison. Quite the opposite.

“Without that push, you’re never gonna get better,” Gronkowski said.

The five-time Pro Bowler said Kelce breaking onto the tight end scene amped him up because he didn’t want to lose his place as the preeminent player at his position. Gronkowski said he knew Kelce was “for real” early on. Kelce has since broken several tight end records, including Gronkowski’s for most yards in a season.

Gronkowski joked he’d have to start playing again if Kelce surpassed his 17-touchdown single-season mark. Oddly enough, Gronkowski’s dominant play that season helped push Kelce to switch to tight end while he was still in college.

“I definitely have been chasing your greatness ever since that year,” Kelce said.

Kelce Named His Mount Rushmore of Tight Ends

Kelce had the chance to name his greatest tight ends of all time on his podcast.

Jason Kelce asked his brother to provide his “Mount Rushmore” of tight ends last year. In other words, to name the four best players ever at that position. Kelce mentioned Hall of Famers Kellen Winslow Sr. and Tony Gonzalez first, before inevitably getting to Gronkowski.

“Definitely Rob Gronkowski,” Kelce said. “You gotta put Gronk on the Mount Rushmore, man. Gronk was one of the most dominant football players to ever play this game when he was on the field. In his prime, you could not touch that dude.”

Both players eventually earned a spot on Kelce’s tight end Mount Rushmore. As for which one of them is better, Gronkowski doesn’t want to be the one to give a definitive answer.

“It’s an argument I don’t want to make the final decision on,” Gronkowski said.