The first step to understanding Rob Gronkowski’s value as a football player would be to take the stat sheet, crumple it up and throw it in the trash.
That’s not to say Gronk didn’t have great numbers over his 11 NFL seasons. He had more touchdowns in a season (17) than any tight end ever has. His 15 career playoff touchdowns are also the best of all-time at his position, and he has the most 100-yard games (32) of any tight end, too. He had 92 touchdown catches in 143 career games, which was only bested by Antonio Gates (116 TDs in 236 games) and Tony Gonzalez (111 TDs in 270 games).
But to truly get it on Gronk, you have to look even closer, and to what he did to a defense that even greats like Gates and Gonzalez didn’t. And that is probably best illustrated by what happened when the Patriots or Buccaneers would break huddle.
