All time greatest tight end

gronk had a couple of the most dominant seasons ever for a TE.......and part of that is why he is no longer in the league.......the bulb that burns twice as bright burns half as long

Haven't we had some iteration of a "greatest tight end" thread about 5M times already on this board?

For one game or one season, you take Gronk.

If you were to start a team now, and you wanted to lock down that position. You take Gonzalez .

Of curse, a lot of these TEs can't block well, so there you have a conundrum. I recognize Gates as an all-time great, but what do you do with a TE like hm that doesn't block?

Durability must count for something. Even though I’m a homer you have to appreciate what Gonzalez did. He had a long and productive carreer. It’s like comparing Marino vs Brady’s first 8 years.

drewskie said:

At their peak, who do you take?

Same debate for modern pitchers..Clemens Maddux Randy Pedro...at their peak its Pedro and the same applies to Gronk imo.

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I can see why you wanted to leave Koufax out.

Here’s my unbiased opinion: Gronk’s the most amazing!!! most spectacular!!! coolest!! bestest!! and GOAT!!!!!!

Maybe I'm wrong on this. But I don't recall Gonzalez exactly lighting it up in postseason play. There isn't one memorable play I remember him making in the postseason. Gronk is a different story. He shined even brighter (Somehow) during the postseason than the regular season.

If you go by the totality of their careers, Gonzalez is the best. But at their peak, Gronk was the GOAT TE ever. Undisputable. Some argue Lidstrom is the GOAT defenceman ever. Because his longevity was longer than Orr's. But Orr's peak was so dominant that he's considered the best ever. Note: I believe Orr is the greatest hockey player to ever live. I'm just saying what some sports historians have said.

Right now it's Gonzalez but when Gronk comes back by week 10 and plays next year too he'll set enough records to solidify himself as the GOAT TE.

Mackey, Ditka, and Smith invented the position as we know it. Very physical players who could also catch and run. We can't know if any of the other guys would have stepped up to the plate like that. They get a special place in this list.

The great players that followed them tended to be less physical, more of the "huge WR" type referred to above. Gonzalez and Winslow were foremost in creating that approach to the position.

Then Gronk came along and just reset the bar entirely.

Call me a homer or whatever you want but it’s Gronk and I don’t think it’s close. Tony Gonzalez was a Jimmy Graham with longevity. He’s a receiver who happened to be called a TE. There was no one even close to Gronk’s level for 90% of his career.

Gronk
Gonzalez

Ditka was the first great TE

Rookie season 1961 - 1076 yards and 12 TDs.

Unheard of back in those days.

Who knows best? But in my memory, John Mackey looms very large as a dominating presence at this position. But I also love Tony Gonzalez for his dependability and endurance... hey, this is the NFL, right. You gotta credit longevity big time.

There's an argument?

Nobody played the position as good. Was as versatile/well rounded. Had the complete skill-set (hands/rr/catch radius/blocking etc..)

Comparing Gonzo to Gronk isn't it. One is a complete TE. One is Tony Gonzalez. Great player but he's not even on Wittens level when it comes to all around, legitimate TEs. Ahead of his time but still behind 87.

ivanvamp said:

We all want to say it's Rob Gronkowski. But I want to make a distinction between "best" and "greatest". I think Christian Laettner was perhaps the "greatest" college basketball player I ever saw (I never saw Alcindor or Walton play in college). His achievements were just off the charts. But he wasn't the "best". Ewing was *better*. Jordan was *better*. Len Bias was *better*. A lot of college players were *better* players, but didn't have the kind of career that Laettner did.

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I'll leave the TE argument to others, but the bit about Laettner is kind of a stretch. Yes, he had a great college career and won two National Championships. Jabbar won three in a row and was MVP in each one.Walton won two championships and his teams won 88 straight games. Bill Russell won two championships and his team won 55 straight games. The NCAA had to rewrite the rules because of him.

At his best clearly Gronk is the answer. When healthy he was the GOAT TE.

However all things considered I need to put him #2 behind Gonzo because longevity matters. I put Winslow #3.

Gronk is the most dominant force I've ever seen play in the NFL (didn't see LT)

patchick said:

The all-around dominance of a healthy Rob Gronkowski was just stunning. But yes, a total career matters too and I have tremendous respect for what Gonzalez accomplished.

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There's no debate Gronk is the most well rounded, impactful and complete TE of all time but for longevity, Gonzalez easily has him (which ironically, has to be linked to his style of play). If you're picking an all time team based on peak ability, Gronk has no equal.

gobesmug said:

Gronk has more Superbowl rings then all those guys combined so I'll give him the "greatest" and "best" title.

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Put Gronk on a team without the GOAT and see how many rings he'd get...

BobDigital said:

At his best clearly Gronk is the answer. When healthy he was the GOAT TE.

However all things considered I need to put him #2 behind Gonzo because longevity matters. I put Winslow #3.

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It does but how much?

Could Tony's body handle what was asked of Gronk?

Could Tony still put up those #'s if he was asked to do what Gronk did?

Imo there isnt anything that Tony did better than Gronk.

I'm surprised posters are even comparing the two tbh.

Tony racked up his #'s bc of longevity. He had plenty of seasons w 2TD, 5TD, 6TD & comes in at 11.4 y/r. Only 3 w 10+ TDs.

Gronk had 5 seasons w 10+ TDs. & 15.1 y/r.

Tony played 17 years & had 111 TDs. Gronk has 79 in only 115 games.

Both have 4 1K seasons.

I understand a lot of things come into play here besides the players themselves but in terms of the TE position I can't even think of anyone who's close.

Also being dominate matters in these debates I think. Certainly when it comes to the HOF. Was Tony ever truly dominate? Maybe for stretches.

Sure Gronk had injuries but when he was out there, healthy, he always dominated. There was never a question of whos the baddest dude out there.

Gronk was Megatron. Best offensive player in the game excluding QBs. Again I dont think you could ever say that abt Tony & I think he's a unbelievable player. Easily one of the greats but not close to 87 imo.