New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is a dominating offensive force – and on his way to re-write the record books. He also has been one of the best players in the game in 2015 and the dominant player at his position, heads and shoulders above the competition.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Will Allen found the right words to describe Gronkowski: "He’s a beast. Period."
The 27-year old finished the season with 72 catches for 1,176 yards and 11 touchdowns before adding 15 catches, 227 yards and three scores in two playoff games. In short: he was spectacular once again.
"He's a glitch on Madden," Texans cornerback Charles James II said about Gronkowski.
"I got big hands, but it looks like his hands are twice the size of mine," Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis added. "He's a problem."
"The beast called Gronk," Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats noted. "It doesn't matter what type of coverage you're playing against him, if it's a zone coverage, if it's man, or you're doubling the guy, he has a large catch radius and he's able to create those mismatches, he's able to create separation, and he has sure hands."
"He's a big guy to bring down," Browns tight end Gary Barnidge said. "He's going to take punishment and he's going to keep going and that's the great thing- he's never going to stop, he's going to be fighting to the end and that's what you want in any guy."
"I gotta thank Rob Gronkowski first and foremost," 49ers TE Vance McDonald said. "We're all getting paid because of him and what he's done with the position, but he's made it fun."
The video includes a breakdown of Gronkowski's red zone ability and it includes possibly the quote of the summer from Lewis.
"It's not even the defender's fault," Lewis said about Gronk posterizing a player in the end zone. "He didn't get beat right there, he was beat at birth."
Naturally, putting up numbers gets you some recognition, be it in form of a Pro Bowl berth (yes), All Pro nomination (yes), or a spot on the NFL Network’s top 100 players (yes). Gronkowski is the highest tight end ranked on the network’s list; and it is no surprise to see him once again out-jump his competition.
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Gronkowski is the third member of the 2015 Patriots to be ranked on the list:
#09: TE Rob Gronkowski
#48: DE Chandler Jones
#87: WR Julian Edelman