Replacing Rob Gronkowski: Where do the Patriots go next?
Draft and develop the next ‘Gronk’
The Patriots have long been linked to their fair share of tight ends in next month’s draft.
Even before Gronkowski made his official retirement announcement, savvy football minds wondered if the time was right for New England to start thinking about the future at the position. After all, Gronkowski played a full 16-game season just twice in his career – his first two seasons in the league – and had openly questioned how long he wanted to remain in the NFL as early as 2017.
Luckily for the Pats, the tight end prospects in this year’s draft are considered unusually talented and deep – so much so that one college actually has two different tight ends that could go in the first two rounds next month.
The University of Iowa football team featured both 6’4, 249-lb junior Noah Fant, and 6’5, 251-lb redshirt sophomore T.J. Hockenson in 2018. Fant had 518 receiving yards and seven touchdowns last season; Hockenson had 717 receiving yards and six touchdowns. WalterFootball.com lists the two Hawkeye players as the top-two tight ends available in April’s draft, with Hockenson just edging out Fant for the top spot because of superior blocking skills.
Alabama’s Irv Smith Jr. is another player that many mock drafts and draft analysts and experts have going to the Patriots. 6’2 and 242-lb, Smith comes from a family of football players, and the tight end position specifically runs in his bloodline.
Reports also surfaced on Wednesday that highly-touted Texas A&M tight end Jace Sternberger was scheduled to visit the Patriots at Gillette Stadium ahead of next month’s draft. Sternberger caught 48 passes for 832 yards and 10 touchdowns last year, and at 6’4 and 251-lb, he’s every bit as built for playing professional tight end as Hockenson or Fant.
Any one of these four players could be the answer the Patriots are looking for at tight end. While rookie tight ends traditionally struggle to make much of an impact their first year as a pro, Belichick’s tutelage could be enough to coax one of these young studs into a star.
dark. Next. Which Patriots had the biggest impact on the 2018 season?
Whether through free agency, trade(s), or the draft, one thing is clear: the time is now for New England to focus on fixing their glaring hole at tight end. Replacing the legendary Rob Gronkowski is an impossible task, but if the Patriots are smart and play their cards right, they should at least be able to do enough to survive his loss this season.