Rob Gronkowski's place in History

[BobDigital]

Rob Gronkowski still has a chance to go down as the best TE NFL history but much depends on how he comes back from this back surgery. He will either be the most dominant TE ever for a time or the best ever.

Right now at the History of the position Gonzo, Gates, Witten and Sharpe are above him all time (for Modern TEs... I am not mentioning Ditka or Mackey)

Currently Gronk is in the Kellen Winslow/Terrell Davis category. Super dominant but not on the field enough to be the GOAT.

Gronk is well on pace to have the most TDs of all time from a TE (Gonzo has 111 to Gronk's 69 (68 receiving) but he only has 6095 yards compared to 15K Gonzo,11.2K Gates, 11.9K Witten 10K Sharpe.

That is where he needs to catch up and he needs to stay healthy and play games to do it. In my mind 10,000 is the mark he needs to hit at the least. Add that in with the most Yards and TDs ever by a TE in a single season and he has longevity of dominance as well as best at his peak. As well of course as most TDs by a TE of all time.

He has a few years at the least with Brady there to help him even if he only stays till his contract is up. Hope he can stay healthy not just for the Pats but to help secure the legacy I think he deserves individually.

 

[RayClay]

27 years old. Terrel Davis had 3 great years, one good one, then nothing. Gronk is among the greatest tight ends already at 27.

His procedure was minor, I read, and it doesn't seem to have slowed him down. He hasn't missed much time at all due to his back overall. A freak broken arm and medical malpractice was the most significant injury. Otherwise, knee and ankle injuries due to playing hard and being unstoppable by less than 3-5 guys.

When you have greatness, sit back and enjoy it. Someday you will tell your grandkids you saw Tom Brady throw to Gronkowski and just blow teams up.

 

[AzorianPats]

Most dominant Tight end in history.

His final stats won't show how great he is, but Gonzalez, Witten, Sharpe wasn't as dominant as Gronk.

 

[RayClay]

In terms of his level when healthy, I might compare him to Babe Ruth in his era. There isn't and never was a tight end that could do what he can.

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

I will cringe everytime he goes on a deep post route. I would like to see him stay healthy next season and put up close to 1000 yards.

 

[oldrover]

Gronk basically had the first four weeks off in 2016, and went down anyway six weeks later. You can't predict these things... and since we now know Brady can win without him, IMHO play the beast.

 

[PatsBoy12]

I said in 2014 after the Bears game that Gronk had already done enough for me to see he's the greatest TE to ever step onto an NFL field. However, statistics matter to the voters, debaters and fans. So it would appear he has more work to do. I always look at his numbers with disbelief at how good they are... then I look at them with a bit of melancholy when I think of how much more he'd have amassed by now without all the missed games. And sadly, I really can't see him playing another full season at this point. I'm still wondering how he did it in 2014 (if you don't count the final game where they held him out).

 

[Jackson 2]

I go back to the Boston Patriots game #1. Gronk is the greatest tight end I've ever seen and no one else is close. Just my take.

 

[nabwong]

Pats will try to manage Gronk's body when he returns. Hopefully they'll split him out wide or run more outside routes. Those seam routes are literally killing him when there's safety help.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Gronk is the best TE the league has ever seen. Gonzalez, Sharpe and Gates are glorified receivers. Best since Bavaro.

Regards,
Chris

 

[Jackson 2]

Pats will try to manage Gronk's body when he returns. Hopefully they'll split him out wide or run more outside routes. Those seam routes are literally killing him when there's safety help.

Yeah, I think they'll try, but I don't know how successful they'll be. He's just a bad combo of playing balls to the wall maniac and prone to injuries. It's too bad because he's just ridiculously great.

 

[EddardSnow67]

Gronk is a devastating blocker. The others aren't even close in that regard, so that paired with the fact that he's impossible to cover one-on-one makes him the GOAT in my opinion. He might even be *better* at blocking than he is in the passing game, which is pretty mind boggling considering he's also the most dominant receiving tight end ever, even if he isn't the most prolific.

 

[PittPatriot]

The TE position unlike any other challenges one's durability.
RB can brace for contact
QB can dump the ball or slide
WR are often out of harms way

So durability and toughness has to be taken into account. Rob is tougher than anyone...but lacks durability.
Nobody exemplified that more than Tony Gonzalez. Tony was in the league from 1997-2013 (17 years). He never had a great QB until he met Matt Ryan for the final 3 years of his carer. People forget (Eastcoast bias?) how great he was because he played on average teams.

 

[aluminum seats]

I'm really just afraid he won't be able to resist leaving his TD total at 69.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

I'm really just afraid he won't be able to resist leaving his TD total at 69.

I admit this thought has crossed my mind. I'd say 90% in jest, but 10% in all seriousness. He is Gronk, after all.

Regards,
Chris

 

[cupofjoe1962]

Rob Gronkowski still has a chance to go down as the best TE NFL history but much depends on how he comes back from this back surgery. He will either be the most dominant TE ever for a time or the best ever.

Right now at the History of the position Gonzo, Gates, Witten and Sharpe are above him all time (for Modern TEs... I am not mentioning Ditka or Mackey)

Currently Gronk is in the Kellen Winslow/Terrell Davis category. Super dominant but not on the field enough to be the GOAT.

Gronk is well on pace to have the most TDs of all time from a TE (Gonzo has 111 to Gronk's 69 (68 receiving) but he only has 6095 yards compared to 15K Gonzo,11.2K Gates, 11.9K Witten 10K Sharpe.

That is where he needs to catch up and he needs to stay healthy and play games to do it. In my mind 10,000 is the mark he needs to hit at the least. Add that in with the most Yards and TDs ever by a TE in a single season and he has longevity of dominance as well as best at his peak. As well of course as most TDs by a TE of all time.

He has a few years at the least with Brady there to help him even if he only stays till his contract is up. Hope he can stay healthy not just for the Pats but to help secure the legacy I think he deserves individually.

Do you think Ray Bourque should be rated a better defenseman than Bobby Orr?

Gonzo, Gates, Whitten & Sharpe are the Ray Bourque's to Gronks Bobby Orr.

I seen Orr play & as good as Ray Bourque was, he should never be compared to Bobby Orr.

The same with Gonzo, Gates, Whitten & Sharpe...... Nobody should ever compare them to Gronk, because they do not have his complete game.

Gronk is by far the best TE ever.
His hands, power, blocking, & clutch catches have never been equaled in the all around game catagory.

 

[patriot1136]

How many touchdowns do Gates, Sharpe, and Witten have? I imagine Gronk would catch up to them fast. 111 from Gonzo will take a while to reach but totally doable.