Best NFL Players of All Time: Tony Gonzalez. Ranking the Top Players in History. Place a bet on an NFL football game now.

Best NFL Players of All Time: Tony Gonzalez

In the NFL, Tony Gonzalez was the rarest of rare commodities. He chose how he wanted to end his career.

After the 2013 season, he departed from the game, having participated in and started all 16 of the Falcons’ games. That was nothing novel at all. After starting all 16 of his games as a rookie and missing just two in his career, Gonzalez went on to start every game for the remainder of his playing career.

Gonzalez’s 17-year NFL career and relatively healthy playmaking record are impressive, but they don’t begin to capture the full impact of his effectiveness for the Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs.

Gonzalez played tight end for the Chiefs for the first 12 years of his career, excelling as a pass catcher. After being moved to the Falcons, he continued to play well. In his later years, he maintained the same level of skill as in his younger years.

If John Mackey and Mike Ditka elevated the standard for upcoming NFL tight ends, Gonzalez raised it much higher. In addition to concluding his career as the greatest receiving tight end in the annals of the game, he ranks second in the annals of receivers all time, only behind Jerry Rice.

Gonzalez had 1,325 receptions for 15,127 yards and 111 touchdowns at the end of his playing career. Compared to Marvin Harrison, the third-most-capable wide receiver of all time, he has 223 more receptions.

He’s just lapped the field if you want to compare him to other tight ends. With 879 receptions, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jason Witten ranks second. Witten is still active as the 2014 season gets underway.

He set tight end marks for both yards and touchdowns. These are a few of Gonzalez’s most noteworthy accomplishments:

• The first tight end to receive more than 15,000
• Most seasons in which a tight end has 1,000 receiving yards (four)
• The most seasons in a row with over 60 receptions (15)
•  The most seasons in a row with over 70 receptions (11)
• Most tight end choices to the Pro Bowl (14)

Gonzalez outpaced the majority of his teammates at the position in terms of game speed. Gonzalez was an accomplished basketball player who had played collegiate ball at the University of California, Berkeley. He possessed the agility, athleticism, and leaping ability of a professional player.

The Chiefs anticipated a superstar when they selected him with the 13th overall in the 1997 NBA Draft because he was an exceptionally talented player.

Gonzalez did not, however, start out playing like a superstar. During his inaugural press conference, he disclosed to reporters that he enjoyed having a good time.

It raises concerns about Gonzalez’s work ethic and drive for success when a handsome athlete like him talks about having fun off the field.

Gonzalez caught 33 receptions in his debut season, but he was unable to provide a response to those inquiries. In his sophomore season, he caught 59 passes, but he was unable to respond to them. He had made some progress, but he dropped a shocking amount of passes. There were numerous problems with his game, and Gonzalez was aware that he was not performing to the best of his abilities.

In the off-season, he returned to his passion: receiving passes. From then on, Gonzalez would catch hundreds of balls every day because he did not want to be simply another high-paid player who occasionally delivered results. His goal was to be the best.

Gonzalez’s true objective was to fulfill his potential as a person, which undoubtedly involved more than merely succeeding on the football field. But part of his objective was undoubtedly to become a great professional. He needed to totally hone his skill and become the greatest player he could be in order to get to that level.

It came down to putting in a lot of effort to hone his skill. In his third season, he caught 76 passes and shot to stardom, but Gonzalez was not happy. Every year, he wanted to keep challenging himself and aim for the top.

Gonzalez always want more passes, regardless of the number he caught. It was his favorite aspect of the game and focused entirely on improving.

Even though he was an excellent pass catcher, he never shied away from the position’s rough-and-tumble demands. He was a gifted and diligent blocker. Not only was he faster, bigger, and stronger than many of his rivals, but he was also more intelligent. He was able to physically subdue them as well as position them to allow him to record an effective block or an indirect block.

Gonzalez was sadly never able to attend a Super Bowl. It was the only time he came near.

The Falcons had an amazing season in 2012, finishing 13-3 in the regular season. As the NFC’s top-seeded club, they defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round of the playoffs. Nevertheless, they lost the NFC Championship game to the San Francisco 49ers, 28-24, which was devastating.

After suffering a shattered heart, Gonzalez opted to continue playing in the hopes that the Falcons would win a championship; nevertheless, injuries were the main cause of the team’s terrible 4-12 record.

Gonzalez is arguably the best athlete to have played the position, and it will be a long time before another tight end reaches his level of success. He never experienced the glory that comes with winning a championship, though.

Best NFL Players of All Time: Tony Gonzalez Stats

Regular Season

Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Ctch%	Y/Tgt	Yds	Succ%	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb	AV
1997	21	KAN	TE	88	16	0	54	33	368	11.2	2	21	51.9	30	2.1	23	61.10%	6.8							33	11.2	368	2	0	4
1998	22	KAN	TE	88	16	16	102	59	621	10.5	2	33	41.2	32	3.7	38.8	57.80%	6.1							59	10.5	621	2	3	6
1999	23	KAN	TE	88	15	15	104	76	849	11.2	11	47	60.6	73	5.1	56.6	73.10%	8.2							76	11.2	849	11	2	8
2000	24	KAN	TE	88	16	16	150	93	1203	12.9	9	66	52	39	5.8	75.2	62.00%	8							93	12.9	1203	9	0	11
2001	25	KAN	TE	88	16	16	118	73	917	12.6	6	49	55.1	36	4.6	57.3	61.90%	7.8	9	100	9	9	0.6	0.1	74	12.5	926	6	0	9
2002	26	KAN	TE	88	16	16	99	63	773	12.3	7	39	53.5	42	3.9	48.3	63.60%	7.8							63	12.3	773	7	0	9
2003	27	KAN	TE	88	16	16	106	71	916	12.9	10	48	54.7	67	4.4	57.3	67.00%	8.6							71	12.9	916	10	0	11
2004	28	KAN	TE	88	16	16	148	102	1258	12.3	7	70	60.8	32	6.4	78.6	68.90%	8.5	5	100	5	5	0.3	0.1	103	12.3	1263	7	0	12
2005	29	KAN	TE	88	16	16	116	78	905	11.6	2	45	51.7	39	4.9	56.6	67.20%	7.8							78	11.6	905	2	0	9
2006	30	KAN	TE	88	15	15	104	73	900	12.3	5	53	58.7	57	4.9	60	70.20%	8.7							73	12.3	900	5	1	9
2007	31	KAN	TE	88	16	16	153	99	1172	11.8	5	59	52.3	31	6.2	73.3	64.70%	7.7							99	11.8	1172	5	0	8
2008	32	KAN	TE	88	16	16	155	96	1058	11	10	66	55.5	35	6	66.1	61.90%	6.8							96	11	1058	10	0	9
2009	33	ATL	TE	88	16	16	134	83	867	10.4	6	55	54.5	27	5.2	54.2	61.90%	6.5							83	10.4	867	6	0	9
2010	34	ATL	TE	88	16	16	108	70	656	9.4	6	40	52.8	34	4.4	41	64.80%	6.1							70	9.4	656	6	0	8
2011	35	ATL	TE	88	16	16	116	80	875	10.9	7	53	62.1	30	5	54.7	69.00%	7.5							80	10.9	875	7	0	8
2012	36	ATL	TE	88	16	16	124	93	930	10	8	65	68.5	25	5.8	58.1	75.00%	7.5							93	10	930	8	0	10
2013	37	ATL	TE	88	16	16	121	83	859	10.3	8	57	60.3	25	5.2	53.7	68.60%	7.1							83	10.3	859	8	0	7
Career					270	254	2012	1325	15127	11.4	111	866	55.9	73	4.9	56	65.90%	7.5	14	100	9	7	0.1	0	1327	11.4	15141	111	6	147
12 yrs		KAN			190	174	1409	916	10940	11.9	76	596	54.2	73	4.8	57.6	65.00%	7.8	14	100	9	7	0.1	0	918	11.9	10954	76	6	105
5 yrs		ATL			80	80	603	409	4187	10.2	35	270	59.7	34	5.1	52.3	67.80%	6.9							409	10.2	4187	35		42

Playoffs

Year	Age	Tm	Pos	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Ctch%	Y/Tgt	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb
1997	21	KAN		1	0	7	3	26	8.7	1	1	28.6	12	3	26	42.90%	3.7	3	8.7	26	1	0
2003	27	KAN	TE	1	1	4	4	55	13.8	0	2	100	22	4	55	100.00%	13.8	4	13.8	55	0	0
2006	30	KAN	TE	1	1	8	4	25	6.3	1	2	50	9	4	25	50.00%	3.1	4	6.3	25	1	0
2010	34	ATL	TE	1	1	1	1	7	7	0			7	1	7	100.00%	7	1	7	7	0	0
2011	35	ATL	TE	1	1	6	4	44	11	0	4	66.7	16	4	44	66.70%	7.3	4	11	44	0	0
2012	36	ATL	TE	2	2	15	14	129	9.2	2	10	86.7	19	7	64.5	93.30%	8.6	14	9.2	129	2	0
Career				7	6	41	30	286	9.5	4	19	67.5	22	4.3	40.9	73.20%	7	30	9.5	286	4
3 yrs		ATL		4	4	22	19	180	9.5	2	14	81	19	4.8	45	86.40%	8.2	19	9.5	180	2
3 yrs		KAN		3	2	19	11	106	9.6	2	5	52.6	22	3.7	35.3	57.90%	5.6	11	9.6	106	2

 

At YouWager.lv you can place a bet on the NFL with the best odds and promotions. Wager on the moneyline, spread, and total; on your favorite team or an undervalued underdog. Sign up with YouWager.lv now and get in the game with the best welcome bonus, click below: