National Tight Ends Day 2025: Tucker Kraft, George Kittle shine - ESPN

To most, it's just another Sunday in October. To NFL fans, it's a holiday: National Tight Ends Day

• Steelers' 1933 striped throwbacks, Chargers' royal top NFL Week 8 uniforms
• Tight ends shine on their holiday
• Packers' Micah Parsons looks back on Aaron Rodgers jersey swap
• NFL Week 8's fashionable arrivals, featuring Mack Hollins
• Who said it? Take Week 7's NFL quote quiz

Since its accidental inception in 2018, the fourth weekend of October has become a day of celebration. It began in Week 2 of that year when former San Francisco 49ers tight end Garrett Celek caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from former 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo against the Detroit Lions, dragging two defenders with him into the end zone.

«We were on the sidelines after [former 49ers tight end Garrett] Celek's score when Jimmy [Garoppolo] asked, 'What is it, like National Tight Ends Day?'» 49ers tight end George Kittle recalled. «I was like, 'yeah, it's National Tight Ends Day. It's a holiday. Tight ends all over the league are scoring touchdowns.' That's how it came to be. We just kind of rolled with it.»

Last year, tight ends represented their position on the holiday by finding the end zone for 17 touchdowns. The record since 2000 is 22 touchdowns, set in Week 1 of 2015. They also caught 177 passes, which is the most on a single day in the Super Bowl era, according to ESPN Research.

Will they surpass those marks on Sunday?

In honor of National Tight Ends Day, here are Week 8's top plays by the big men on the move.

Kraft represented the position group in primetime by scoring the first touchdown of this week's «Sunday Night Football» matchup. He then followed it up with a second score in the fourth quarter, this one a 24-yard grab for his