Only three things are certain in life: Death, taxes, and football fans arguing over who is the best player at any given position. Tom Brady may have put the all-time QB1 discussion to bed, but when it comes to the tight ends, there’s anything but a consensus.
Advertisement
Some are in favor of Tony Gonzalez, the former Atlanta Falcon who was the only tight end to ever record 15,000+ receiving yards. Others find themselves captivated by the ongoing success of Travis Kelce, who now has three Lombardi trophies to his name.
To the surprise of perhaps no one, however, Brady himself isn’t picking either of those two when it comes to determining the G.O.A.T of the tight end position.
“Everyone is gonna say Tony Gonzalez. And I think Tony was the greatest pass catching tight end of all time, but if you’re looking at the greatest tight end in history, it’s Rob Gronkowski,” Brady said. He explained why he would rate Gronk above Travis and Tony. “He catches the ball as well as the top three or four tight ends… But Gronk was, without a doubt, the greatest run blocking tight end the league has ever seen… We would run the ball behind him because that was the best match up.”
Of course, there’s some inherent bias in Brady’s take, but the underlying metrics do present a rather compelling case for Gronkowski. When it comes to stat totals, obviously no one is near Gonzalez, but when you begin to look at the averages and the amount of games played, the picture becomes a bit more clear.
Gonzalez compiled 15,127 receiving yards and 111 career touchdowns, but he also played in a total of 270 games. Meanwhile, Gronkowski needed just 143 games to record 9,286 receiving yards and 92 career touchdowns.
Suffice to say, where Gonzalez is averaging 56 receiving yards and 0.4 touchdowns per game, the former Patriot is averaging 65 receiving yards and 0.6 touchdowns per game. In terms of pure physicality, there’s no denying that Gronkowski, quite literally, is head and shoulders above the rest of the competition.
Gonzalez averaged 11.41 yards per reception, while Gronkowski averaged nearly 15 yards every time he caught the ball. Had it not been for a lengthy injury history and a propensity for partying, it’s incredibly likely that Gronk could have extended his career, at which point, he would have easily surpassed Gonzalez in terms of touchdowns.
For as impressive as both of them were throughout their respective careers, it’s hard to deny the 6-foot 6″, 265-pound giant a spot in the all-time conversation. Then again, these kinds of discussions will always be subjective, as different numbers mean different things to different people.
If anything, let this simply serve as a reminder to appreciate these kinds of generational talents while they are still here, because you’ll be hard pressed to find someone like them once they are gone.
