Tony Gonzalez: Jason Witten is a first-ballot Hall of Famer

If anyone knows the value of a tight end, it's Tony Gonzalez.

The NFL's all-time leader in receptions and yards by a tight end had high praise for his contemporary, Jason Witten.

Witten, who announced his retirement from football Thursday, will hang up his cleats ranked second to Gonzalez in both receiving categories.

"The guy can block, he can catch, and he can do both of them at an elite level, which make him, to me in my mind, a 100 percent complete tight end," Gonzalez said on NFL Network, per NFL.com's Nick Shook.

"He was a huge part of (the Cowboys') success ... you can ask those running backs who played with him how valuable he was. ... This is why he is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I think, without a doubt, I'd put him in the top three, top four tight ends," he added.

Gonzalez, widely regarded as the best tight end in NFL history, will himself be eligible to join the Hall of Fame in 2019 and is already paving the way for Witten to join him in the hallowed halls.