To Draft Gronk Or Not to Draft Gronk

[The Foot]

I am all in on Gronk this year. In my big money redraft league I am going for him with third pick in the third round if he hopefully falls that far.

 

[leftypower]

I likely will not draft a TE anywhere before rd 6 (unless Graham fell to 4th). Anyway, Gronk won't be there in the 6th for me to worry over. .... I like the value of an Olsen, Witten or Pitta much better since I can build RB & WR strength.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I will draft Gronk if he falls to me in the 4th... Maybe the 3rd if the draft goes a particular way and i am at a particular spot in the draft...

 

[leftypower]

I will draft Gronk if he falls to me in the 4th... Maybe the 3rd if the draft goes a particular way and i am at a particular spot in the draft...

I think you have a footish mancrush. .... go for it.

 

[tlance]

Personally Gronk is feeding off of this ego boost and I think thats bad. He thinks he;s the greatest player on the field and fantasy freaks and experts stroke his ego. He's also being too heralded despite his constant getting hurt. He should be ranked where he was last year but due to his boom potential he's ranked too high.

Actually, he might be the best player in the league. His ego is not as big as his game.

Rob Gronkowski non-QB NFL MVP

But that does not mean that I am reaching for him because the injury risk is very real.

 

[The Foot]

I couldn't agree more with that article tlance.

 

[redseat]

The player most comparable to Gronkowski, though, is New Orleans Saints TE Jimmy Graham, and even he is not as valuable to the Saints as Gronkowski is the Patriots. Since 2010 (the year both players entered the league), Graham has played in 62 games versus Gronk’s 49, while catching 301 passes versus Gronk’s 224. However, despite these advantages, Graham still trails Gronkowski in career touchdown catches (41 to 42) and only leads in career receiving yards by 640 (3,863 to 3,223). The one factor separating these two is that the Saints offense still fires on all cylinders with their vast assortment of weapons and various schemes; New Orleans does not rely on Graham to the same degree that New England does with Gronkowski. The Patriots’ roster, on the other hand, is made up of young and injury-prone players at the skill positions. Danny Amendola still has to prove whether or not he can play a whole season, Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins have to show that they understand the system going into their second years, and Steven Ridley has to convince the coaching staff and his teammates that he can hold onto the football. This inconsistency among the various skill players on the roster underscores the significance of Gronkowski and further highlights how important he is to the Patriots’ offensive success.

 

[wilwhite]

However -

If you consider that the first 4 RBs drafted missed 20 out of 64 games last year, Gronk missing 14 out of 64 in his career doesn't look so bad.

 

[redseat]

However -

If you consider that the first 4 RBs drafted missed 20 out of 64 games last year, Gronk missing 14 out of 64 in his career doesn't look so bad.

That's a good way to look at it!

 

[Pattersonca65]

I think he and Harvin were on the Insiders list of players not to draft... But I don't get the insider so I can't confirm.

I have Insider and just read those lists today. Yes, they are both on it.

 

[RobBase]

I'm keeping him in my 14 team keeper along with Ertz and Ruldolph.

 

[tlance]

I'm keeping him in my 14 team keeper along with Ertz and Ruldolph.

Unless you have like 30 roster spots, why keep 3 TEs?

 

[averagejoe]

Took him in the 5th round last year in a PPR league. I was all smiles when reports surfaced that he could play in game 3. Didn't happen. Then he might play in game 5. Nope. Finally showed up in game 7. By then the fantasy season was primarily half over.

He essentially played in only 7 games and scored 126 points (PPR). He was the 16th ranked TE considering that he missed 9 games. He averaged 18 points per game, which puts him second behind only Graham (19.8).

But what this doesn't tell you how frustrating it was to have to draft around him (since I knew he wasn't 100% healthy and was a risk). I drafted Olsen in the 8th as insurance. But that pick could have gone to get more depth in other places. Plus it was annoying since many of the week 3 thru 6 games, Gronk's status was the edge-of-your-seat "game time decision."

As for his value this year, I'm skeptical. Maybe because I was burned by him. Someone suggested he's a 4th round pick? According to ADP Calculator, Gronk's being drafted on average 26th overall (early 3rd round pick) using over 600 mocks. His high is currently pick 1.9 (which is insane) and his low is 4.7, so he'll be gone by the 5th round.

 

[Ram Tough]

I see a Potential huge year for Gronk... health concerns are always going to be there of course, but that's why he usually goes in the 3rd.