The Philadelphia Eagles believe their star center Jason Kelce should make the Hall of Fame so much that in November, they posted a 27-minute video on the topic, which broke down in extreme detail why the 36-year-old belongs in Canton.
Watching that video, Kelce’s younger brother Travis got emotional.
On the latest episode of the “New Heights” podcast, the brothers discussed a since-deleted post on X, formerly Twitter, by NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank in which he noted that Kelce is the 23rd offensive lineman in NFL history to make 1st Team All-Pro at least five times and the Pro Bowl at least 7 times.
The reason the tweet was deleted? Frank pointed out that every other offensive lineman on the list was in the Hall of Fame except for Jim Tyrer, who murdered his wife in 1980. Many users found the tweet to be in bad taste.
Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs speaks with Jason Kelce #62 of the Philadelphia Eagles after Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. Travis got emotional recently watching a lengthy video posted by the Eagles about Jason’s Hall of Fame candidacy.PHOTO BY COOPER NEILL/GETTY IMAGES
Jason didn’t mind the tweet, since everything in it was factual, although Travis called it “the darkest LeBron stat of all time,” referencing the “New Heights” nickname for obscure statistics.
Getting back to Frank’s larger point, however, Jason said the writer has been backing his Hall of Fame candidacy for a few years by citing a variety of statistics.
For his part, Travis prefers the Eagles’ official version.
“There’s nothing better than what the Eagles posted about you,” he said. “The 30-minute highlight video of why Jason Kelce transcended the game of football and why you should undoubtedly be in the Hall of Fame? Dude, it was f****** unbelievable. I cried. And there isn’t even a moment when you should be crying. It was great, man.”
In the video, Eagles analyst Fran Duffy breaks down what makes Jason so special. He analyzed a number of specific plays Kelce brings to the table, but the biggest one was the run-pass option (RPO), which Kelce’s unique set makes possible for the Eagles.
“When people talk about hall of fame credentials, the question is asked: ‘Can you tell the story of this era of the NFL without talking about this player?’” Duffy narrates. “Well you can’t tell the story of modern football without talking about RPOs, and you can’t tell the story of RPOs without talking about the Eagles both introducing them to the league and riding them to a Super Bowl. And you can’t tell the story about all that Eagles success without talking about Jason Kelce and the impact he’s had on those schemes.”
Duffy broke down how Kelce’s gravity affects the Eagles’ offense, as well as his unique size (Kelce is the second-lightest offensive lineman since 2001 to take part in the NFL combine), which benefits his footwork and balance.
Additionally, Kelce is one of the most key components to the Eagles’ quarterback sneak—a play so effective, the NFL might have to ban it.
Kelce also impresses during screen plays, where he had been called for just two holds in 920 plays prior to this season.
“Watching Kelce work in the screen game is like watching Michael Jordan with the ball in crunch time,” Duffy narrates in the video. “He is Chris Rock with a mic. He is Picasso with a brush. There is nobody better than him at this.”
Jason asked Travis on “New Heights” whether it was the screen part of the video that made him weep.
“It was. It was the screens,” Travis said. “You literally, the RPOs man. They wouldn’t be the same without Jason Kelce.”
Jason and the Eagles open their postseason on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round on Sunday at 8:00 p.m.
