Former New England Patriots TE Martellus Bennett won a Super Bowl and cashed in for a nice new contract with the Green Bay Packers. Bennett took to Twitter to discuss some of his former teammates.
Bennett says that Cowboys WR Dez Bryant loves football more than anyone and also says that he wishes he could have played with former Panthers and Ravens WR Steve Smith. WR Brandon Marshall taught him “how to be a professional athlete” and Patriots WR Julian Edelman “is one of the best guys that I ever played with because he gave it everything he had everyday.”
Bennett also discusses the best tight end he’s “ever seen play” and it isn’t Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski.
Even though @JasonWitten & I never had a great relationship he's the best TE I've ever seen play @terrellowens told me to study him so I did
— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) June 20, 2017
When I was with the @dallascowboys I wouldn't to be myself make my own way. As soon as I left I mimicked Witten in a lot of ways. Lol
— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) June 20, 2017
Bennett doesn’t have the best relationship with Witten, as evidenced by his diatribe on a previous E:60 segment.
“Witten didn’t talk to me when I was in Dallas,” Bennett said. “He ain’t help me. Very rarely did we talk. He didn’t teach me nothing, he didn’t help me out. You know, there were times when I asked him stuff and he’d be like, ‘Figure it out.’ I hated him. I hated Witten.”
But that displeasure never stopped Bennett from appreciating Witten’s ability to get open despite not being as physically imposing as some other tight ends. Bennett’s been consistent in this opinion, calling Witten “the top TE in the game” prior to the 2014 season.
It doesn’t help that Gronkowski was limited by injuries for much of Bennett’s time in New England, but I’m surprised by this opinion from Bennett. Maybe he’s talking about the best tight ends he’s played alongside in the sense that 2008-11 Witten was better than 2016 Gronkowski, which isn’t a stretch of a claim; Witten was named to multiple All Pro teams in that stretch and averaged 87 receptions for 982 yards without missing a single game.
But with regards to overall talent, there hasn’t been a better tight end season in the history of the NFL than Gronkowski’s 2011 season. Gronkowski’s 2014 and 2015 seasons probably rank second and third for tight ends when looking at both receiving and blocking ability.
Ultimately, I just find it interesting (curious?) that Bennett points to Witten as the best tight end, despite not having a good relationship with him.