Antonio Gates ranks in the all-time elite tier for tight ends — a career that places Gates in the top 1% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Gates a career score of 89, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Career Value · VORP
522 career value over replacement — #13 all-time of 4,695. 32.6/season above a replacement-level TE.
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Season totals or exact team stints. Career totals count each season once.
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Receiving | Snap Counts | Advanced Receiving (2018+) | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | Off | Off% | Def | Def% | ST | ST% | ADOT | YBC/R | YAC/R | BrkTkl | Drops | Drop% | 1D | TgtRate | |||||
| 2003 | 23 | SD | 9 | — | 24 | 24 | 389 | 2 | 100.0% | 16.2 | 16.2 | — | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2004 | 24 | SD | 15 | — | 81 | 81 | 964 | 13 | 100.0% | 11.9 | 11.9 | — | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005 | 25 | SD | 15 | — | 89 | 89 | 1,101 | 10 | 100.0% | 12.4 | 12.4 | — | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2006 | 26 | SD | 16 | — | 71 | 71 | 924 | 9 | 100.0% | 13.0 | 13.0 | — | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007 | 27 | SD | 16 | — | 75 | 75 | 984 | 9 | 100.0% | 13.1 | 13.1 | — | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2008 | 28 | SD | 15 | — | 60 | 60 | 704 | 8 | 100.0% | 11.7 | 11.7 | — | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2009 | 29 | SD | 16 | — | 114 | 79 | 1,157 | 8 | 69.3% | 14.6 | 10.1 | — | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2010 | 30 | SD | 10 | — | 65 | 50 | 782 | 10 | 76.9% | 15.6 | 12.0 | — | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011 | 31 | SD | 13 | — | 88 | 64 | 778 | 7 | 72.7% | 12.2 | 8.8 | — | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2012 | 32 | SD | 15 | — | 80 | 49 | 538 | 7 | 61.3% | 11.0 | 6.7 | — | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013 | 33 | SD | 16 | — | 113 | 77 | 872 | 4 | 68.1% | 11.3 | 7.7 | — | 49 | 968 | 87.2% | — | 0.0% | — | 0.0% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 34 | SD | 16 | — | 98 | 69 | 821 | 12 | 70.4% | 11.9 | 8.4 | — | 44 | 769 | 72.1% | — | 0.0% | — | 0.0% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 35 | SD | 11 | — | 85 | 56 | 630 | 5 | 65.9% | 11.3 | 7.4 | — | 33 | 497 | 61.5% | — | 0.0% | — | 0.0% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 36 | SD | 14 | — | 93 | 53 | 548 | 7 | 57.0% | 10.3 | 5.9 | — | 34 | 585 | 61.6% | — | 0.0% | 1 | 0.3% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 37 | LAC | 16 | — | 52 | 30 | 316 | 3 | 57.7% | 10.5 | 6.1 | — | 16 | 500 | 47.3% | — | 0.0% | — | 0.0% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018 | 38 | LAC | 16 | — | 45 | 28 | 333 | 2 | 62.2% | 11.9 | 7.4 | — | 19 | 364 | 36.0% | — | 0.0% | — | 0.0% | 7.9 | 7.4 | 4.5 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 19 | 90.3 |
| Career | — | 229 | — | 1,233 | 955 | 11,841 | 116 | 77.5% | 12.4 | 9.6 | — | 651 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | — | |
Regular-season all-time ranks
Postseason all-time ranks
A top 1% all-time tight end with excellent availability over their career and above-average snap-level impact. The rarest archetype in the game — dominance, efficiency, and health in one player.
Worth 522 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end — top 1% of all 4,695 ranked at the position. 16 of 16 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +32.6 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
16 seasons × ~32.6 surplus ≈ VORP 522
Todd Heap
TE
91% match
2003 Draft ClassmatesFull class →
Famous Partnership
Philip Rivers
13 shared seasons · combined KV-H 1883