NFL: The 10 Greatest Players in New England Patriots History

#8 Rob Gronkowski

New York Jets v New England Patriots

Rob Gronkowski is currently forging a Hall of Fame worthy career. He was drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 2010 draft. Gronk is a matchup nightmare for covering defenders. At 6’6 he is too big for Cornerbacks to cover. He is also too quick for most Line Backers to keep up with. Gronkowski has had the luxury of playing his whole career with one of the best Quarterbacks to grace the league.

He is Brady’s ‘go to’ option in a high powered offense. Gronkowski has played 8 seasons in the NFL, amassing 474 catches, 7,179 yards and 76 touchdowns. His best receiving season was in 2011, where he totaled 90 receptions, 1327 yards and 17 TDs, all of which are career highs.

Despite only playing 8 seasons, Gronkowski holds a lot of records at the Tight End position. His 17 TDs in 2011 is the most recorded by a Tight End in a single season. He is the youngest player to record 3 touchdowns in a single game in both the regular season and the playoffs. He also has the joint most 1000+ receiving yard seasons by a Tight End, tied with Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten. He is a 2 time Super Bowl champion, 5 time First Team All-Pro and has been voted to 5 Pro Bowl teams.

If Gronkowski goes on to secure another contract and stops flirting with retirement, he will likely go down as the best Tight End of all time.