Happy National Tight Ends Day: Travis Kelce, TEs tied for NFL record with 16 TDs

On By Littum

It’s the fourth Sunday in 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 ready to play. By the end of the first window of play on Sunday’s holiday, seven different tight ends caught touchdowns, eight if you include the Minnesota Vikings’ Josh Oliver’s score from Thursday night.

The leading rusher was Atlanta Falcons’ Kyle Pitts, who had his first career multi-touchdown game. Here’s a quick recap of today’s best festive performances, plus a quick bite of history.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end caught his first touchdown of the 2024 season on a third-and-goal to set 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 puts together the type of game fantasy football managers have been waiting for for years. The ultra-talented 24-year-old kicked off National Tight Ends Day with a bang, scoring two touchdowns in the first half, both of which showcased the unique blend of size and speed that earned him 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.

The San Francisco 49ers star — who helped invent this “holiday” (see below) — capped things off 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 remains the NFL’s leader at the position.

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

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

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

Wright didn’t start the party until the second quarter and reached the end zone for the first time in 2024, where he was quickly bullied by LaPorta.

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

Andrews, a national tight end, 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.

Later Sunday, the Denver Broncos wanted to replicate the Lions’ fun and also celebrate their pair of tight ends. In the first quarter, Nate Adkins joined the party with his first career touchdown reception, and in the second quarter, Adam Trautman joined him to give Denver the 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, the Broncos’ tight ends totaled five catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

Other touchdown scorers

  • Tyler Conklin: New York Jets tight end scores on impressive one-handed grab in traffic against New England Patriots to give 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 fourth-quarter lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
  • Evan Engram: Jaguars tight end is a favorite target for Trevor Lawrence, and their touchdown connection Sunday couldn’t have come at a better time. With under two minutes to play, Engram outran three Packers defenders to score a late touchdown to tie the game.
  • Dalton Kincaid: The Buffalo Bills tight end entered the game with a red zone score right before halftime against the Seattle Seahawks.
  • Josh Oliver: Does Oliver’s Thursday night touchdown count? For this exercise, of course. The Minnesota Vikings hit their tight end for a touchdown in the first quarter on National Tight Ends Day-eve-eve-eve.

The History of National Tight Ends Day

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

“We were on the sideline after Celek’s score when Jimmy asked, ‘What’s this, like National Tight Ends Day?'” Kittle said. “I thought, ‘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 of promotional content in 2020. By 2023, the holiday was so beloved that it extended beyond sports and caught the attention of basketball’s biggest star, LeBron James.

Required reading

(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)