Tight End
Arizona
6-6 258
40 time: 4.65
Draft board overall prospect rank: #38
Draft board tight end rank: #2
Overall rating: 80*
3/27/10: There were rumors that, after back surgery that caused him to miss all of last season, he was still not healthy. I think he proved that wrong because, simply put, you can’t run a 4.65 at 6-6 258 with a bad back. The injury, and the rust that comes along with not playing a whole year because of injury, are still issues, but this guy could have been a first rounder if he had a good year this year and there’s no doubting he could be a steal for a team in the 2nd round. I think he’s clearly the 2nd best tight end in this draft class, at least in my mind, because of Dennis Pitta’s lack of elite athleticism and upside and Aaron Hernandez’s small frame and ability to run block.
1/18/10: Surprisingly enough, the top two tight ends in this draft class didn’t play all season. Gronkowski has been amazing statistically in his career, but he hasn’t given scouts much of a statistical sample. He wasn’t a full time tight end as a freshman, he missed 3 games with mono as a sophomore, and back surgery cost him his entire junior season. However, what I do like about his state that is good going forward if his career 16 YPC, meaning he was extremely athletic and tough to bring down in the open field because its very unlike a quarterback is repeatedly throwing to a tight end 16 yards down field. Also 16 of his 75 catches in his short career were for touchdowns showing once again his physical dominance. Good ability in the open field and end zone dominance are a very good combination for a young tight end. He’s a big moving target at 6-6 270 and can run a 4.7 40 assuming his back is fully healed. He has football and sports in general in his blood. And he’s still 20 so his upside is huge. He would have been the top tight end in 2011 had he returned to school and been healthy so I’m a bit puzzled as to why he didn’t. This year he’s looking at anywhere from 2nd to 4th tight end off the board depending on how scouts see him bounce back from injury in workouts. That would mean 2nd or 3rd round range for him.
Injury Update (1/15/10): Surprise, Gronkowski has declared as a 20 year old junior coming off of major back surgery. He’s extremely athletic, but major surgery plus limited playing experience in college (he also missed 3 games as a sophomore with mono) could drop him into the 3rd or even 4th round behind Jermaine Gresham, Dennis Pitta, and Aaron Hernandez.
Injury update: Gronkowski will miss the rest of the 2009 season after having back surgery which means that he’s most likely not declaring in the 2010 draft. Gronkowski is only a 20 year-old junior still and if he comes back and is his old self he could compete to be the top tight end off the board in 2011, but for now, I’m removing him from my 2010 scouting reports list and he will not be in my next edition of the big board top 100.
Rob Gronkowski is a terrific athlete. He played both football and basketball in high school and comes from an athletic background. 3 of his brothers played or are playing college sports, one of whom, Dan, was drafted by the Lions in this past NFL draft. His youngest brother Glenn is a senior in high school and likely will get an athletic scholarship. His dad played college football at Syracuse and both his grandfather and his great-grandfather were cyclists. His great-grandfather competed in the 1924 Olympics. As for Rob, he has the size at tight end that NFL offensive coordinators dream about. He’s 6-6 265 and just turned 20 in May. He has room to grow and should be able to put on about 10-15 pounds more of muscle. He compliments this size with very good hands and could play wide receiver if he was faster. He should run the 40 in the high 4.6s, low 4.7s. Despite his size, he’s not a very good run blocker. He takes weird approaches and gets bulldozed over by defenders and doesn’t hold his blocks long enough. His route running could use some work. He also tends to not run 100% out there at all times and relies on his natural athleticism, rather than having an NFL caliber work ethic. One of the things I like about him is his high touchdown rate, as well as his high yards per catch. In his two seasons at Arizona, 21.3% of his catches were for touchdowns, an amazing number even for a tight end. He also has averaged 15.96 yards per catch, which is very good for any receiver, especially a tight end. It has been statistically proven that pass catchers who have higher yards per catch and touchdown per catch rates have better NFL career. He is a very good YAC guy for a tight end, though I wouldn’t say he has break away speed. His size makes him tough to tackle in the open field. Still, all the athletic tools are there for him to be a very nice tight end in the NFL. If he’s coached well, he could be a Pro-Bowl caliber all-around tight end.
NFL Comparison: Marcedes Lewis
*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here
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