New England Patriots: Rob Gronkowski named a player to avoid in fantasy

With the NFL season getting closer, that also means fantasy football leagues will be starting soon. Who is one player on the New England Patriots that you should worry about?

As one of the best offensive teams in the NFL last season, the New England Patriots had multiple players that helped their fantasy owners. One of the players that did let down fantasy owners last season was tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Last season, Gronkowski was once again hurt by injuries. As either a first or second round pick last season, Gronkowski likely hurt most fantasy teams he was on last season. When on the field, Gronkowski did play well, but he also had some fantasy duds last season.

Recently, Brandon Marianne of Pro Football Focus listed players that fantasy owners should avoid in the first five rounds. Even though he is healthy coming into the season, Gronkowski made that list. Here is what Marianne had to say about avoiding Gronkowski.

"I wrote about Gronkowski in my TEs that might bust article, as well, but it bears repeating. Gronkowski is the best fantasy tight end in the league. That is not debatable. 15.1-yard average depth per target. 3.18 yards per route run. 8.7 yards after the catch. Everything is tops. But he only played in eight games last year, and in three of those games, he caught one or fewer passes while he served as a decoy. He was cleared to practice this week and the Patriots restructured his contract with an eye on the future, but he hasn’t played a full season since 2011. You should absolutely get Gronkowski in leagues this year but diversify."

Due to the injury issues, Gronkowski is certainly a risky pick. Even though he set a career-high in yards per catch last season in eight games.

In addition to injury concerns, the Patriots also have a lot of weapons that could take away stats from Gronkowski. With the addition of Brandin Cooks this offseason, we will likely see a more balanced passing offense in New England.

Next: Who are 5 players that might not be on the team next season?

When healthy, Gronkowski is the best fantasy football tight end. However, he has to stay on the field to be worthy of a second round pick in your fantasy leagues.