Five Best Tight Ends in NFL History

Unlike some of the other positions I have recently written about, naming the five best tight ends in NFL history wasn’t nearly as complicated – or as time consuming. However, I must admit, that selections three through five on my “Best Tight End in NFL history” list, were tricky calls that were predicated on the play of some of the more recent tight ends to play in the NFL.

Having said that, here it is, my compilation of the five best tight ends in NFL history.

Kellen Winslow
The majority of players, coaches and fans of the NFL, since its inception, recognizes Winslow as the best tight end in NFL history. Like several others, Winslow was responsible for revolutionizing the tight end position forever.

The San Diego Chargers selected Winslow with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft and the 6-5, 250-pound tight end played for the team 1979 to 1987.

Although Winslow played in five Pro Bowls, his career was shortened by a series of devastating knee injuries. However, he still managed to amass 541 receptions for 6,741 yards and 45 touchdowns in just nine National Football League seasons.

Winslow, a consensus All-Pro in 1980, 1981, 1982, had his most memorable performance in 1981 in the Chargers 41-38 overtime playoff victory over the Miami Dolphins when he caught 13 passes for 166 yards and blocked a field goal with four seconds to play to send the game into overtime.

That game has been voted as the best game in NFL history by several football-related media – and it is a game I remember watching myself, being the lifelong Dolphin fan that I am.

I maintain, until this day, that Winslow’s performance that day may be the singular best postseason performance by any individual in NFL history. His statistics may not rival some of the others in this list, but when it comes to picking the best five tight ends in NFL history, I firmly believe that Winslow is at the head of the class.