It’s official. Rob Gronkowski is (again) hanging up his boots and retiring after 11 seasons in the NFL. Not only that, but he is also retiring as the greatest tight end to have ever played the game.
There has always been a strong debate as to who is the greatest tight end of all time. Some say Tony Gonzalez, others say Shannon Sharpe or Antonio Gates. There’s Kellen Winslow diehards, Ozzie Newsome and Mike Ditka fans, along with some Dave Casper shouts. There are even those who believe Travis Kelce, who is still playing for Kansas City, has surpassed all the names I’ve mentioned as the greatest tight end.
But for me, it is the one and only, fun-loving, free spirit Rob Gronkowski that tops the tight end list.
From being a 42nd pick in the 2010 draft by the New England Patriots, Gronk has always had the talent of being the greatest tight end ever. If he was not as injury prone as he sadly ended up becoming, he would easily have gone in the Top-10 of his draft class. Still, he has shown that being selected later on does not dictate how great one will become (his favorite and only QB, Tom Brady, also showed that too).
Ever since that 2010 rookie season, no one can debate his placement as the most physically dominating tight end to have ever played. In his hay-day (2011-2017), opposing defenses needed at least two defenders to bring down Gronk if he was running at full speed. And, most often, that would still not be enough.
He was also the most dominate blocking tight end of all time too. During the later days of his Patriots career and throughout his time with Tampa Bay, he was often used as an extra tackle on the offensive line. His size, strength, and flexibility were lethal against opposing pass rushers, who unsuccessfully tried to get around the versatile tight end.
He and Tom Brady share a great deal of NFL records when it comes to a QB-WR/TE combination. The pair is second all-time in NFL QB-WR/TE touchdown receptions (90) and they are first in that same category in the playoffs (15). In terms of overall touchdowns, they have a combined 105 total TDs, only second to Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning’s 114 total TDs.
As for Gronk individually, he finished his career with 9,286 receiving yards, 92 TDs, 621 receptions, 1,389 playoff receiving yards, 15 playoff TDs, and 98 playoff receptions. And that was all accomplished with him missing 36 games in his career (which is the equivalent to two full seasons and four extra games).
Nevertheless, what makes Gronk the greatest tight end in my opinion, is his Super Bowl and Conference Title winning teams. The man is a bonified winner. With 4 Super Bowl Rings (3 with New England, 1 with Tampa Bay) and 3 more AFC Conference Championship wins, Gronk has been a part of Super Bowl-finalist teams in 7/11 years he played. That means he (or his team if he was injured) has appeared in the Super Bowl 64% of his NFL career.
From the eight guys I mentioned earlier, they have a COMBINED 5 Super Bowl titles between them (with Shannon Sharpe at 3). Gronk has 4.
I think I have proven why Gronk has been the greatest tight end of all time as he not only produced great receiving and blocking numbers, but also contributed to multiple super bowls winning teams. If it was not for his terrible injury luck, there would have been no debate in the first place.
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