Quote:
Originally Posted by ThrobProng
He's the Dan Marino of TEs. Gaudy numbers and an empty trophy case. He's MAYBE the 3rd best of all time, and that's only if you remove hardware from the equation completely.
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Yeah, Kelce and Gronk have 1-2 on lock (in that order, IMO, but I can see an argument to the contrary).
Gates and Winslow are at 5-6.
So 3 or 4 is the debate here - Tony G or Sharpe. Tony G beats him on numbers, Sharpe kills him on hardware. At their respective apexes, (1998-2001) it was Tony getting the All Pro nods but a pretty good argument exists that Sharpe was declining at that point while Tony was still ascending.
But ultimately I don't think there's a huge distinction between their best levels. Both guys were spectacular at their best. Longevity, though, is Tony G in a walk.
So regardless of hardware, I'm giving Tony the 3 spot.
Kelce
Gronk
Gonzalez
Sharpe
Gates
Winslow
Everyone else (there's a pretty big drop after Winslow, IMO)
270 games from Gonzelez, virtually all of them at a very high level (whereas Gates fell off really hard) is pretty damn incredible, though. To put that in perspective, Kelce would need to play another SEVEN YEARS to hit those figures. Dude was made of granite.