Gronk has a unique place in NFL history: 265-pound downfield threat

[Pat Patriot]

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Rob Gronkowski, who retired from the Patriots on Sunday, has a unique place in NFL history.

Gronkowski’s combination of size and speed was unprecedented and allowed him to be both one of the best blocking tight ends in the game and one of the best downfield threats in the game. Those two skills simply don’t come in one package.

To illustrate how unique a player Gronk was, here’s a list of players with 500 or more catches in their career who averaged 15 or more yards per catch, ranked in order of their weight. Gronk, listed at 265 pounds, is by far the heaviest player ever to have receiving numbers like that. Vincent Jackson, at 241 pounds, was the next-biggest, followed by Calvin Johnson at 237 pounds. No one else who had 500 catches and averaged more than 15 yards a catch even weighed 230 pounds.

Gronkowski’s career average of 15.1 yards per catch was better than some of the league’s top big-play wide receivers, including Tyreek Hill (14.6 yards per catch), Odell Beckham (14.0 yards per catch) and Antonio Brown (13.4 yards per catch). You just don’t see 265-pound guys who can make plays downfield like that. For opposing defenses, he was a matchup nightmare.