Rob Gronkowski = Jason Witten Clone

[Patspsycho]

bruschi keeps sayjng that BB has been looking for the next mark bavaro forever

He has been looking for the next Lawrence Taylor even longer.

 

[Patjew]

Bavaro! Yes, that's probably the best comparison I can think of. He had some great hands!

Now we just need to find him his Phil McConkey.

 

[Fencer]

Now we just need to find him his Phil McConkey.

He has few of those. Probably even better.

One area where it would be hard to beat McConkey, however, is arm candy. He lived in my building in NYC, and we shared an elevator a few times. His girlfriend was rather dramatic to look at.

That made up in no small part for never encountering a couple of pretty well-known actresses who also lived in the same building.

 

[RobertWeathers]

No comparison with Gronk to Coates?.....even a little?

Not yet. In his prime, Coats was the best TE in the business.

 

[patchick]

I see a reincarnation of Mark Bavaro. Great blocker. Great pass catcher. Tough as nails.

Bavaro was the complete package, and arguably the gold standard for an all-around tight end. But he wasn't nearly the physical specimen that Gronkowski is. Gronk has 2+ inches and 20 pounds on Bavaro, plus an incredible wingspan on top of that. He's still just a puppy, but...wow.

 

[Patjew]

He has few of those. Probably even better.

One area where it would be hard to beat McConkey, however, is arm candy. He lived in my building in NYC, and we shared an elevator a few times. His girlfriend was rather dramatic to look at.

That made up in no small part for never encountering a couple of pretty well-known actresses who also lived in the same building.

I bet you have some great round-the-building stories.

 

[cartmen]

If Gronk is a Coates/Bavarro/Whitten combo whats that make Hernandez? Possibly a Sharpe/Gonzolez clone...Pretty scary combo if you ask anyone :rocker:

 

[brady199]

I don't see the comparison with Gronk and Witten at all. Gronk plays much bigger is a much better blocker and redzone threat. I agree more with the Heap comparison, hopefully Gronk can stay Injury Free unlike Heap.

 

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

I thought this the first time I saw him when we drafted him.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Bavaro was the complete package, and arguably the gold standard for an all-around tight end. But he wasn't nearly the physical specimen that Gronkowski is. Gronk has 2+ inches and 20 pounds on Bavaro, plus an incredible wingspan on top of that. He's still just a puppy, but...wow.

Yep. Keep in mind players were smaller back then too and relative to the league, Bavaro was a above-average sized TE.

Whats interesting is that on that same Giants team you had Jim Burt who played NT and was barely 270. I think Wilfork has him by 80 lbs.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Another former Patriot great comes to mind with Gronkowski

Russ Francis

Both players at 6'6" (Rob at 263 Lbs. and Russ at 242 Lbs.) and Russ was a great one all around...hopefully Rob can be similar in his career here.

 

[NewFeep]

Reminds me AlgeCrumpler somewhat......

 

[woodheadwow]

I remember on draft day, Mel Kiper hated the pick because he claimed that Gronkowski looked 'too stiff'. Has anyone ever noticed that Kiper is almost always wrong when he criticizes Pats draft picks?
I love Gronkowski as a football player. It's just a matter of time before he adds 'vertical threat' to the rest of his arsenal based on what I've seen so far from him.

WW

 

[ATippett56]

Scouting Report:

NFL Draft Scout----Powered By: The Sports Xchange

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I remember on draft day, Mel Kiper hated the pick because he claimed that Gronkowski looked 'too stiff'. Has anyone ever noticed that Kiper is almost always wrong when he criticizes Pats draft picks?
I love Gronkowski as a football player. It's just a matter of time before he adds 'vertical threat' to the rest of his arsenal based on what I've seen so far from him.

WW

I don't think he hated the pick, but he didn't love it.

Of course, I'd pay to see him tell GRONK that to his face.

 

[Ron Sellers]

I remember on draft day, Mel Kiper hated the pick because he claimed that Gronkowski looked 'too stiff'. Has anyone ever noticed that Kiper is almost always wrong when he criticizes Pats draft picks?
I love Gronkowski as a football player. It's just a matter of time before he adds 'vertical threat' to the rest of his arsenal based on what I've seen so far from him.

WW

Right now Kiper is liking the Pats' 2010 draft.

Kiper puts Patriots in 'hot start' category - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

At the midpoint of the NFL season, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper provides a 2010 "draft progress report" and the first team listed under the "hot starts" category is the Patriots. Kiper believes the Patriots have had one of the most productive draft classes in the NFL.

"The Pats deserve special props because they've implemented guys early, and they've done it while winning football games," Kiper writes. "That's not easy."

 

[ATippett56]

Some NFL Network love:

NFL Videos: Week 15 rookie to watch

 

[zipster9]

Reminds me AlgeCrumpler somewhat......

One of BillB's top NFL drafts, so far:

1st Round – Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers => year-1 production A
2nd Round – Rob Gronkowski, TE, Arizona => year-1 production B
2nd Round – Jermaine Cunningham, OLB, Florida => year-1 production B
2nd Round – Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida => year-1 production B
3rd Round – Taylor Price, WR, Ohio => TBD
4th Round – Aaron Hernandez, TE, Florida => year-1 production B
5th Round – Zoltan Mesko, P, Michigan => year-1 production B
6th Round – Ted Larsen, C, NC State XX
7th Round – Thomas Welch, OT, Vanderbilt XX
7th Round – Brandon Deaderick, DL, Alabama => TBD
7th Round – Kade Weston, DL, Georgia XX
7th Round – Zac Robinson, QB, Oklahoma State XX

 

[eagle eye]

Oh come on. The amount of koolaid in this thread is unreal.

I love Gronk and he does look like a star in the making but to even compare him to the greatest tight end of the last decade is just going too far too soon.

To suggest his ceiling is higher is just ludicrous at this early stage.

 

[ausbacker]

Oh come on. The amount of koolaid in this thread is unreal.

I love Gronk and he does look like a star in the making but to even compare him to the greatest tight end of the last decade is just going too far too soon.

To suggest his ceiling is higher is just ludicrous at this early stage.

Suggesting the Patriots were a Superbowl contender post Cleveland debacle was ludicrous at that point in time too.

Gronk looks every bit a gem.