Skip to main content

“You kids don’t know about prime Gronk” – NFL fans split over fresh Rob Gronkowski vs Travis Kelce GOAT TE debate

Posted on July 20, 2024 - 9:36 am by

Travis Kelce, left, Rob Gronkowski, right during Super Bowl LV            

When you think of the greatest tight end of all time, a few names that might pop up are Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and former NFL tight end, Rob Gronkowski.

Gronk and Kelce are two of the best tight ends in NFL history and are two of the more recent dominant TEs in football.

Gronkowski won four Super Bowls (three with the New England Patriots, one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) in his 11-year career. Kelce has won three Super Bowls with the Chiefs in 11 seasons.

A popular X page known as ‘_MLFootball’ posted this question on its profile page: ‘Who’s the greatest tight end of all-time, Rob Gronkowski or Travis Kelce?’ Fans had mixed opinions, arguing the case for both.



Here’s how some of them reacted:

“Pure TE: Gronk, receiving TE: Kelce,” one fan wrote.

“The perfect answer: Gronk was a true, two-way tight end who meant plenty protecting the immobile Brady along with his offensive prowess. Kelce is better as a receiver but doesn’t contribute nearly as much to helping the offensive line as Gronk did,” one fan wrote.

“I hate the narrative that Kelce isn’t a ‘pure TE’ Kelce has worked his a** off to become a blocking TE & he’s done just that. He’s a good enough blocking TE to still be called the greatest,” one fan said.

Some observations of the two are that Kelce is the better pass-catcher while Gronk is the better blocker. Others also pointed out that Gronk had a better prime while Kelce has had a bit more longevity as a productive tight end.



One thing that isn’t in doubt is that both Kelce and Gronkowski will very likely be first-ballot Hall-of-Famers.

Here’s how more fans reacted to the debate:

“Peak is easily gronk but if you want to go by longevity you could go Kelce, especially if he continues to produce in the coming years,” one fan said.

“I’ve had this debate far too many times in the last few months. It’s Travis Kelce, for me. There’s a fair debate for both though,” one fan wrote.

“Kelce could never even touch prime Gronk, the dude would catch a pass from Brady and run through 2 defensive backs and a linebacker making it look too easy and then take whoever he was blocking out of the club the next play,” one fan wrote.

Who is the better tight end, Rob Gronkowski or Travis Kelce?

Travis Kelce during Super Bowl LVIII – San Francisco 49ers v Kansas City Chiefs



Determining who is the greatest or better player between the two greats can be a tough debate.

Rob Gronkowski is a four-time Super Bowl winner, five-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro, and has the most touchdown receptions in a single season by a tight end with 17.

He retired with 621 catches for 9,286 yards and 92 receiving touchdowns. He also has the most receiving yards by a tight end in Super Bowl history (346) and became the first tight end to surpass 1000+ yards in the postseason.

He also had four 1000-yard seasons and four seasons where he scored at least 10 touchdowns.

Travis Kelce is a three-time Super Bowl winner who has been named to nine Pro Bowls, and seven All-Pro teams. He has 907 receptions for 11,328 yards and 74 touchdowns.



Kelce holds mutliple records by a tight end. These include most career postseason receptions, receiving touchdowns by a tight end, 1000-yard seasons by a tight end, receiving yards in a single season for tight ends and 100+ yard games as tight end.

Kelce is still playing at a high level, as he had 93 catches for 984 yards and five touchdowns this last season.

Kelce might have a few more years in him to add a few more awards to his prestigious resume. By the time he retires, many will likely view him as the greatest tight end of all time.