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Happy National Tight Ends Day: Travis Kelce, TEs account for NFL-record 16 TDs

28 October 2024Last Update :
Happy National Tight Ends Day: Travis Kelce, TEs account for NFL-record 16 TDs

It’s the fourth Sunday of October, which can only mean one thing: National Tight Ends Day.

Sunday marks the fifth annual celebration of the informal event, and the tight ends came out ready to play. By the end of the first window of games on Sunday’s holiday, seven different tight ends caught touchdowns, eight if you include Minnesota Vikings’ Josh Oliver’s score from Thursday night.

The Atlanta Falcons’ Kyle Pitts was the leading reveler, notching his first-career multi-touchdown game. Here’s a quick roundup of the day’s best celebratory performances, plus a quick bit of history.

Travis Kelce

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end caught his first touchdown of the 2024 season on a third-and-goal to put the Chiefs up in the second quarter.

The 35-year-old has had a quiet season, entering National Tight Ends Day with 28 receptions for 245 yards, but his touchdown Sunday marked his 75th career score. Only four other tight ends in league history have ever reached the end zone more times — Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham.

Kyle Pitts

Pitts put together the type of game fantasy football managers have been waiting on for years. The ultra-talented 24-year-old got National Tight Ends Day started with a bang, scoring two first-half touchdowns, both of which displayed the unique blend of size and speed that got him drafted with the No. 4 pick in 2021.

He finished the holiday with four catches for a season-high 91 yards to go with the two scores.

George Kittle

The San Francisco 49ers star — who helped invent this “holiday” (see below) — put a cap on things with a huge performance in a “Sunday Night Football” win over the Dallas Cowboys. He had six catches for 128 yards (his first 100-yard game of the season) and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 30-24 win over Dallas. It was his sixth touchdown catch of the season as he continues to be the NFL’s leader at the position.

Cade Otton

On the opposite sideline of Pitts, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were without star receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans on Sunday, but celebrated National Tight Ends Day to great success anyway.

Otton matched Pitts’ dominance, scoring two touchdowns of his own and finishing with 81 yards on nine receptions.

Brock Wright and Sam LaPorta

The Detroit duo didn’t want to hog the holiday love, so the Lions’ tight ends each caught a touchdown.

Wright got the partying started first in the second quarter, reaching the end zone for the first in 2024, where he was quickly mobbed by LaPorta.

By the end of the frame, LaPorta was dancing in the end zone himself, catching a laser from running back David Montgomery on a trick play.

Mark Andrews vs. David Njoku

A National Tight End Day mainstay, Andrews has had a quieter 2024 than years past, but the Baltimore Ravens star was in top form against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The three-time Pro Bowler scored his fourth touchdown of the season.

Andrews’ touchdown came minutes after Njoku gave the Browns a third-quarter lead with a leaping 23-yard touchdown grab.

Andrews and Njoku finished their star-studded holiday game with a combined 10 receptions for 97 yards and the two touchdowns.

Nate Adkins and Adam Trautman

Later Sunday, the Denver Broncos wanted to replicate the Lions’ fun and celebrate their pair of tight ends as well. In the first quarter, Nate Adkins joined the party with his first career touchdown reception, then in the second quarter Adam Trautman joined him to give Denver a lead over the Carolina Panthers.

Denver tight ends entered Sunday with just 17 receptions for 136 yards and no touchdowns this season. Through two quarters against the Panthers, Broncos tight ends totaled five catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

Other touchdown scorers

  • Tyler Conklin: The New York Jets tight end scored on an impressive, one-handed grab in traffic against the New England Patriots to give the Jets their first touchdown of the game
  • Tucker Kraft: Kraft scored his fifth touchdown in five games Sunday, helping the Green Bay Packers build a lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth quarter.
  • Evan Engram: The Jaguars tight end is a favorite target of Trevor Lawrence, and their touchdown connection Sunday couldn’t have come at a better time. With under two minutes to play, Engram out-leaped three Packers defenders to score a late touchdown to tie the game.
  • Dalton Kincaid: The Buffalo Bills tight end got in on the action with a red zone score just ahead of halftime against the Seattle Seahawks.
  • Josh Oliver: Does Oliver’s touchdown Thursday night count? For this exercise, sure. The Minnesota Vikings hit their tight end for a first-quarter touchdown on National Tight Ends Day-eve-eve-eve.

History of National Tight Ends Day

In Week 2 of 2018, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo connected with tight end Garrett Celek on an 11-yard touchdown. Back on the sidelines, the always-colorful Kittle later shared a conversation he joined in on.

“We were on the sidelines after Celek’s score when Jimmy asked, ‘What is it, like National Tight Ends Day?’” Kittle said. “I was like, ‘yeah, it’s National Tight Ends Day. It’s a holiday. Tight ends all over the league are scoring touchdowns.’ That’s how it came to be. We just kind of rolled with it.”

The idea grew in 2019 before the NFL fully embraced the concept with promotional content in 2020. By 2023, the holiday was so beloved it extended beyond the sport, grabbing the attention of basketball’s biggest star LeBron James.

(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

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