Wild Stories From Rob Gronkowski's Pre-Draft Visits With Patriots Are So Perfectly Gronk
By Michael Luciano
Before Rob Gronkowski became an integral part of several New England Patriots championship teams, one of the best tight ends to ever play the game, and one of the most charismatic individuals to ever put a helmet and shoulderpads on, he was an athletic tight end prospect put of Arizona that was trying to sell teams on him in the 2010 NFL Draft despite the fact he struggled with injuries in college.
The Patriots ultimately took a chance on Gronk despite some really unusual behavior in his pre-draft visits. The Athletic's Jeff Howe confirmed that Gronk's meetings with New England involved falling asleep in a waiting room and professing his love for SpongeBob in an NFL interview.
Via @jeffphowe, the stories of Gronk's pre-draft visits with the #Patriots are...very Gronk.https://t.co/q48Q0kscQu pic.twitter.com/ZJeMNJnEwI
— Adam Weinrib (@AdamWeinrib) April 15, 2020
The "Ferentz" in this article is Brain Ferentz, current Iowa OC, former Patriots tight end coach, and son of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. Kirk saw Gronkowski up and close during Iowa's home-and-home series against Arizona, and Gronk showed off the athleticism and strength that would make him impossible to cover in the NFL.
New England also liked the tape he put up against Oregon in 2009 after he beat up Patriots second-round pick Patrick Chung in coverage multiple times in that contest. Gronk had 12 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown in that game.
10 years ago, the Patriots drafted Rob Gronkowski. @jeffphowe has the inside story of how they scouted, evaluated and then learned to love Gronkhttps://t.co/GRb3xY8nOT
— The Athletic Boston (@TheAthleticBOS) April 15, 2020
?90-day free trial https://t.co/yMLmBNN22U
It seems like Gronk was always the quirky jokester/dominant force of a tight end we all know and love. Luckily for New England, they saw past the SpongeBob jokes in the interview and picked this game-changing weapon.