Top Single Seasons by Chargers' Tight Ends

 By John Turney 

When Antonio Gates becomes eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2024, he could be the first tight since Tony Gonzalez in 2019 and the second ever to be a first-ballot choice. Yet Gates will still be seen as the second-best tight in the history of the Chargers -- L.A. or San Diego -- behind Hall-of-Famer Kellen Winslow, even though he broke most of Winslow's team records.

But what about individual seasons? Where would Gates' best season stand among the best tight ends who wore Chargers' uniforms? You're about to find out.

Taking the top season by each tight end in club history, then ranking them, I've come up with a list of the 10 best. Here they are:

10. Pat Curran, 1975—Curran was a backup with the Rams for years, but the Chargers hadn't had a tight end catch more than 19 passes the previous three years. So Chargers' coach Tommy Prothro, who was familiar with Curran when he coached in L.A., sent a third-round pick to the Rams for Curran and a running back.

In his first opportunity to start in the NFL, Curran responded with 45 receptions and 619 yards. The 45 catches were the most by a Chargers' tight end until 1980 when Kellen Winslow surpassed it.

9. Hunter Henry, 2019—He had solid but not spectacular numbers -- 55 receptions, 652 yards (11.9-yard average) and five TDs in 12 games -- but was a solid all-around tight end.

He had another good year in 2020, enough for Bill Belichick to give the 6-5, 250-pounder a three-year, $37.5 million contract to become a Patriot.

8. Bob Klein, 1979—What? A guy with just 37 catches, 424 yards and five touchdowns this high? Yep.  

First, Klein was as good a blocker as it gets from the tight-end position -- so much so that when he was with the Rams there was talk of converting him to tackle.

Second, in 1979, his final pro season, he set career highs in receptions, yards, touchdowns and longest reception. But he did much of it after Winslow, then a rookie, broke a leg.

Klein had his role expanded, helping the Chargers (in their first full season under coach Don Coryell) win the AFC West. It was a great way for the former first-round pick from USC to leave the NFL and start his dental practice.

7. Pete Holohan, 1984—He emerged in 1984 as a second receiving threat from the tight end/H-back position, catching 56 passes (for a career-high of 734 yards) -- some of them Houdini-like. He had the best hands of any Chargers' tight end, bar none -- one reason teammates called him "Hands" Holohan.

In fact, he may have had the best hands of any Chargers receiver ever, regardless of position, rivaling Keenan Allen, Charlie Joiner, Lance Alworth and any others you'd care to name. He could catch the rock. 

6. Jacque MacKinnon, 1968—His 19.6 yards per catch stand out, especially for a guy that was 6-4, 250 pounds -- about 15 pounds more than he's usually listed and nicknamed "Baby Huey" by teammates.

MacKinnon backed up six-year starter Dave Kocourek at tight end while also playing some fullback, guard and tackle. Sid Gillman wanted him on the field, and if someone was ahead of him at tight end then Gillman needed him to block.

After Kocourek was lost to Miami in the 1966 expansion draft, MacKinnon took over at tight end and went to the AFL All-Star game in his first year as a starter. However, he lost the job one year later, then regained it in 1968 to have his best season -- returning to the All-Star game and named second-team All-AFL.

Not only is his 19.6 average the best in team history for a tight end, his 18.3 mark in 1966 is third-best, remarkable for a big man. Not all tight ends from that era could play in today's NFL, but MacKinnon may be one who could. He had the size to block and the speed to get deep.

5. Freddie Jones, 2000—A talented athlete for his size, the 6-4, 260-pound Jones was the first Chargers' tight end to stretch a defense in a decade where the team's tight ends were used mostly as blockers. They'd gotten away from the innovations of the Air Coryell era into the power offenses of Dan Henning and Bobby Ross.

In 1998, Fast Freddie was the first tight end to lead the club in receptions since Kellen Winslow in 1987. But in the first year of the new millennium, he caught 71 passes, 766 yards and five touchdowns, and he did it on a 1-15 team with Ryan Leaf at quarterback.

4. Dave Kocourek, 1961—This is somewhat of a cheat. Yes, Kocourek played some flanker in 1961, but in that era flanker often meant slot ... and it also meant he could be tight, on the end of the line or slightly split. Plus, he did start at tight end at the beginning and end of the year, in time for the AFL championship game.

At 6-5, 240, Kocourek was the largest of the receivers by a good margin -- with the other tight end listed as a part-time starter at about 215 pounds. Nevertheless, when you consider the multi-faceted roles of other tight ends in Chargers' history, he qualifies for this list despite being listed as a flanker for nearly half the games in '61.

In some ways, he was a glimpse of things to come in pro football and an echo of another player his coach, Sid Gillman, had when he was with the Rams -- Leon Clarke a 6-4, 235-pound end/flanker/slot.

Kocourek caught 55 passes for 1,055 yards and a remarkable 19.2 yards per catch average. And he took four to the house.

Nomenclature aside, it was a great year for the former Wisconsin Badger and CFL player. He was voted second-team All-AFL and to the AFL All-Star game (the first of four).

Yes, 1961 was a very good year. Ironically that season, NFL rookie end Mike Ditka was doing some of the same things for the Bears -- catching passes for over 1,000 yards and doing it more while not lining up next to an offensive tackle. 

3. Willie Frazier, 1967—His forte was catching passes, but he should not be thought of as a one-dimensional player. Though not big, he was an accomplished blocker.  

He was a streamlined 6-4, 225 to 230-pounder, and probably the fastest player on this list. In his career year, he caught 57 passes for 922 yards and 10 TDs. The touchdown receptions were third in the AFL and the receiving yards were fifth. What's more, he caught more passes for more TDs that season than Lance Alworth and was fewer than 100 yards behind him.

The 10 TDs are still tied for second-most in a single season by a Chargers' tight end, and his 65.9 yards per game rrank behind only two pretty famous tight ends in team history.

The Arkansas native was recognized as All-AFL by the Sporting News and second-team by NEA and was voted to the AFL All-Star game. He played 11 seasons of pro football, six in the AFL, four in the NFL and two in the WFL (yes, that does add up to 12, but in 1975 he played in both the WFL and NFL).

2. Antonio Gates, 2005—Gates had a handful of seasons that could be considered a career year, and it's that consistency that will get him into the Hall of Fame.

In 2005, he caught 89 passes (ninth in the NFL) for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns (fifth in the NFL) and was a consensus All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection -- remarkable for someone who didn't play collegiate football (he chose basketball). Yet he made a transition to NFL tight end seem easy,  a testament to his elite athleticism.

Other years considered were 2004 (consensus All-Pro, the NFL Alumni Tight End of the Year) and 2009, which was perhaps his best statistical year. In the end, however, 2005 was tops. 

1. Kellen Winslow, 1981—You hear the phrase "he changed the game" applied to a lot of players, and most of the time it's bogus. Whatever it is they're professed to have done, it usually was achieved previously by someone else.

Winslow is an exception. 

Before him, there were not a lot of 6-5, 250-pound guys lining up, not just at tight end but in the slot, wide, as an H-back or, on occasion, as a fullback. But Winslow mostly was a receiver, which is what he called himself.

Not a tight end.

He consistently did things tight ends were not asked and did them with with extreme athleticism. Taking the "Y" receiver to another level with Winslow, coach Don Coryell changed the way tight ends were used ... and it continued through guys like Tony Gonzalez, fellow Charger Antonio Gates and current Chiefs' tight end Travis Kelce.

So, what was Winslow's best season? Was it 1980? 1981? 1982 or 1983? He led the NFL in receptions in 1980 and 1981. His highest yards total was 1980, and the best start he had was in 1984 when he was on pace for a 1,500-yard season. But he blew out his knee that year after seven games.

In the end, the pick is 1981 because playoff performance matters, and what he did in the 1981 playoff game in Miami was legendary -- 13 catches, 166 yards, one TD and a blocked kick. Those numbers, plus leaving everything he had on the field, were the difference maker, making it his career year over the others.

He was a consensus All-Pro and All-AFC choice, got a vote each for MVP and Offensive Player of the Year and was the co-MVP of the Pro Bowl to cap off a nearly perfect season.

To this day, it's still one of the best ever for any tight end and the best in Chargers' history.