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With the evolution of the passing game in football, the tight end position has likewise undergone a revolution from primarily an extra blocker to a versatile pass-catching weapon. In particular, the 21st century NFL has not only seen all-world tight ends like Tony Gonzalez and Rob Gronkowski (arguably two of the best tight ends ever), but also dominant forces like Antonio Gates and Jason Witten – the former is the most prolific scorer in league history at the position, while the latter is the all-time iron man among tight ends and also once held the single-season tight ends receptions record. Both longtime legends announced their retirement in recent years and are most assuredly Hall of Famers, thus bringing up the debate:
Who was better – Antonio Gates or Jason Witten?
The Beginning
Despite very different college careers and eventual paths to the NFL, both Gates and Witten became starters during their rookie seasons and showed glimpses of the production to come in later seasons.
A native of Detroit, Gates played both football and basketball in high school and wanted to play both at the college level. Originally, he went to Michigan State, but then-Spartans football coach Nick Saban wanted him to focus exclusively on football, prompting Gates to transfer to Eastern Michigan University to play basketball. However, after less than a season there, he transferred again to the College of the Sequoias (a junior college in California) before finally transferring to Kent State University in Ohio; at Kent State, Gates finally found a home, helping the Golden Flashes win back-to-back Mid-American Conference (MAC) basketball championships, along with a surprise Elite Eight showing and Honorable Mention All-American honors as a senior in 2002. With his height (or lack thereof at 6’4″) making him a classic “tweener” for the NBA, Gates pivoted to football and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Diego Chargers despite having never played college football – as a rookie in 2003, he broke into the starting lineup and had a respectable 24 receptions for 389 yards and 2 touchdowns.
In contrast, Witten was born in Washington D.C., but raised in Tennessee, where he was a star two-way high school football player at tight end and linebacker and also played basketball; as a senior in football, his success culminated in All-State and All-American honors, USA Today Player of the Year for Tennessee, East Tennessee Player of the Year, Region Defensive Player of the Year, and runner-up for the Mr. Football award. For college, he stayed in-state at powerhouse Tennessee, though originally played defensive end before switching to tight end midway through his freshman year. By his junior season, Witten had broken out to earn All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Academic All-SEC honors and would declare early for the NFL; selected with the 69th overall pick in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, Witten had a solid rookie year with 35 catches for 347 yards and a touchdown.
Career Comparison
Both Gates and Witten were models of consistency and excellence for the Chargers and Cowboys, respectively, for much of the 2000s and 2010s, with each player setting single-season and career records at the tight end position (some of which have been broken, others that still stand).
In just his second season in 2004, Gates became one of Drew Brees’ favorite targets and broke out to the tune of 81 receptions for 964 yards and 13 touchdowns – not only did he earn the first of eight straight Pro Bowl selections and three consecutive All-Pro nods, but he also set a then-record for receiving touchdowns by a tight end (since surpassed by the aforementioned Gronkowski). As an encore, he was perhaps even better with a career-high of 89 catches for his first 1,000-yard season (1,101) and double-digit scores once again (10). To cap off his string of All-Pro seasons, Gates then compiled 71 catches for 924 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2006 despite a new quarterback in Philip Rivers.
While never again an All-Pro, Gates continued his outstanding play year in and year out, nearly reaching 1,000 yards again in 2007 (75 catches for 984 yards and 9 touchdowns). After dipping the next year to 704 receiving yards, he quickly bounced back in 2009 with a career-best 1,157 receiving yards on 79 catches with 8 touchdowns. Nagging injuries limited Gates to 23 games played over the next couple of seasons, but he nevertheless earned his final two Pro Bowl selections and had yet another double-digit touchdown year in 2010 (only 50 catches for 782 yards, but 10 scores); moreover, in 2011, Gates surpassed Charlie Joiner (586) to become the Chargers’ all-time career receptions leader. Overall, his numbers were consistent, but not quite as dominant as in his early days, but Gates did post a final double-digit touchdown season in 2014: 69 receptions for 821 yards and 12 touchdowns, in the process also passing Lance Alworth to become the franchise leader in career receiving yards.
As he entered the twilight of his career, Gates was suspended for four games in 2015 for the use of performance enhancing drugs; more of a secondary receiving option rather than a star at this point, he did surpass 100 career receiving touchdowns in 2015. All in all, he would spend three more seasons with the Chargers thereafter, but took a backseat to promising young tight end Hunter Henry and saw his receiving yardage decline from around 500 yards a season to 300 yards annually. Nevertheless, he did pass Tony Gonzalez for most touchdowns by a tight end and upon officially retiring in 2020 (he last played in the NFL in 2018 at age 38), Gates had the most career touchdowns by a tight end (116), the most touchdowns between a quarterback and tight end (89 from Rivers), and the aforementioned Chargers career records for receptions and receiving yards – not bad for an undrafted former basketball player!
Likewise, Witten emerged in his second season with 87 catches for 980 yards and 6 touchdowns, thus earning the first of seven straight Pro Bowl selections and 11x overall. Though his numbers decreased somewhat to the 750-yard range for the next couple of seasons (with just a single touchdown in 2006), he rebounded in 2007 to the tune of new Cowboys tight end records of 96 catches (including tying Kellen Winslow Sr.’s single-game tight end record of 15 receptions; he later broke that record with 18 catches in a 2012 game) for 1,145 yards with 7 touchdowns, making the All-Pro Team for the first time. Following another strong campaign in 2008 (81 catches for 952 yards and 4 touchdowns), he posted back-to-back 90+ catch, 1,000+ yard seasons, though scoring was a little more inconsistent:
- 2009: 94 receptions for 1,030 yards and 2 touchdowns
- 2010: 94 receptions for 1,002 yards and 9 touchdowns; First Team All-Pro for the second and final time and fastest tight end to 600 career receptions
Entering his 30s, Witten continued to be a highly effective pass-catcher for Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. In fact, a solid 2011 season (79 catches for 942 yards and 5 touchdowns) was followed by a record-breaking 2012 campaign: Witten set a tight end record with 110 receptions in a season (breaking Gonzalez’s previous record of 103 catches) for 1,039 yards, though only 3 touchdowns; he has since been surpassed by Zach Ertz’s 116 catches in 2018. Moreover, Witten earned another Pro Bowl selection after missing out in 2011, and also won the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year Award that season for his off-the-field work. Over the next couple of seasons, he earned Pro Bowl selections in both 2013 and 2014 and set a record for consecutive starts by a tight end, but saw his production begin to diminish to the 700-800 yard range; as a sign of his consistency, he reached 10,000 career receiving yards and surpassed Shannon Sharpe for second all-time on the tight end yardage list (behind only Gonzalez).
Though he was no longer a Pro Bowl fixture and not much of a threat to score, Witten was still rock-steady as Dallas’ starting tight end, even earning a final Pro Bowl nod in 2017 with 63 catches for 560 yards and 5 touchdowns – with his 11th Pro Bowl selection, he matched former defensive tackle Bob Lilly for most in Cowboys history. At season’s end, Witten announced his retirement at age 35 and joined ESPN’s Monday Night Football as a telecaster. However, following just one season in the booth, Witten could not shake the urge to play and rejoined the Cowboys on a one-year deal in 2019; following a respectable season, he played for the Las Vegas Raiders as a backup tight end for a year before signing a one-day deal with the Cowboys to retire for good at age 38. All in all, Witten not only holds Dallas team records for receptions and receiving yards, but is fourth all-time in NFL history for career receptions (behind only Jerry Rice, Larry Fitzgerald, and Gonzalez).
On the x-y axis of longevity and greatness, Gates and Witten each possessed both – the former played 16 NFL seasons, while the latter suited up for 17 years and is the all-time leader at tight end for regular season games played (271). With the benefit of more games played, Witten outpaces Gates in terms of both receptions and receiving yards, but the former basketball standout has a significant edge in touchdowns scored; it is likewise a mixed story when it comes out awards and accolades – Witten earned more Pro Bowl selections (11 to 8) and took home the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, but Gates was more often an All-Pro (3x to 2x). This same dichotomy exists in both “great” seasons (more 1,000-yard seasons for Witten at 4x to 2x, but more double-digit touchdown campaigns for Gates at 4x to none) and per-game totals: Gates averaged 4.05 receptions for 50.17 yards and 0.49 touchdowns per game vs. Witten’s 4.53 receptions for 48.14 yards and 0.27 touchdowns per game. Given the all-time great production from both players at not only the tight end position, but among pass-catchers more broadly, Gates and Witten are both near-locks for the Hall of Fame when each one becomes eligible.
Regular Season Statistics
| Antonio Gates | Player | Jason Witten |
| 16 (2003-2018) | Seasons | 17 (2003-2017, 2019-2020) |
| 236 | Games Played | 271 |
| 955 | Receptions | 1,228 |
| 11,841 | Receiving Yards | 13,046 |
| 116 | Receiving Touchdowns | 74 |
| 8x | Pro Bowls | 11x |
| 3x | All-Pro | 2x |
| – | Super Bowls | – |
| – | Other Awards | 1x Walter Payton Man of the Year |
| – | Hall of Fame Induction | – |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Though they were consistently excellent in the regular season year in and year out, Gates and Witten saw mixed success in the playoffs, with neither player able to guide their teams to the Super Bowl.
Overall, in his seven postseason trips with the Chargers, Gates’ best showing was making it to the AFC Championship Game in 2007 vs. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, a 21-12 loss best-remembered for LaDainian Tomlinson sitting out most of the game. Individually, Gates’ best performance came in 2008 (13 receptions for 146 yards), when the team won a game before falling 35-24 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round.
Similarly, across his six playoff appearances with Dallas, Witten twice won Wildcard games to advance to the Divisional Round, which were his best individual postseasons: 14 catches for 125 yards in 2009 and 11 catches for 134 yards in 2014. Otherwise, the other seasons all resulted in one-and-done situations, either in the Wildcard or Divisional rounds.
Playoff Statistics
| Antonio Gates | Player | Jason Witten |
| 12 | Games Played | 8 |
| 51 | Receptions | 45 |
| 540 | Receiving Yards | 486 |
| 2 | Receiving Touchdowns | 1 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; later in his career, Gates took a back seat as a secondary receiving option for the Chargers, while Witten’s return from retirement to play a couple more NFL seasons was relatively mediocre. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams, of which Gates is on for the 2000s Second Team), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Antonio Gates | Player | Jason Witten |
| 2004-2011, 2013-2014 | Decade of Dominance | 2004-2013 |
| 149 | Games Played | 160 |
| 715 | Receptions | 844 |
| 9,087 | Receiving Yards | 9,452 |
| 90 | Receiving Touchdowns | 51 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Again, across their decades of dominance, Witten was the more prolific pass-catcher overall in terms of both receptions and yards, but Gates, with his basketball background, was the far more dangerous scoring option.
My Thoughts
Without a doubt, Antonio Gates and Jason Witten are two of the greatest tight ends in NFL history and in my book, both first-ballot Hall of Famers. While you really cannot go wrong with either of them, between the two, my choice is Gates because of his greater dominance and explosiveness. To me, Witten was more of a great possession-type receiver (i.e. lots of receptions, but fewer big plays/touchdowns); it is true that he was an iron man and should be commended for his longevity and consistency, but more often than not, he was consistently a top-five to top-10 tight end, though rarely ever the best or second-best in the league. In contrast, Gates was an awesome athlete who parlayed his immense physical gifts into being a nearly unstoppable all-around receiving force at his peak, particularly in the red zone; he had almost as much longevity as Witten and even though Gates had fewer catches, on a per-game basis, that nevertheless translated into more yardage. Moreover, scoring is the name of the game in football and outside of perhaps Gronkowski, Gates is arguably the greatest scoring threat ever at the tight end position.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Antonio Gates
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
More Good Stuff
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