When the New England Patriots drafted Rob Gronkowski in the second round of the 2010 draft, not many envisioned him becoming the dominant tight end and future Hall of Famer that we saw for a decade. In fact, when Gronk was named to the NFL’s all-time team, Bill Belichick told NFL Network’s Rich Eisen that his pre-draft visit with New England went so poor, the coaches found him asleep on the floor.
Bill Belichick tells the story of how the @Patriots drafted @RobGronkowski, with an interesting pre-draft visit 😂#NFL100 pic.twitter.com/dC8JMDh2BL
— NFL (@NFL) December 14, 2019
“Rob was a shot in the dark. He came up on his pre-draft visit, had a bad visit,” Belichick recalled. “We put him in a room, came back, he was asleep on the floor. Didn’t make a very good impression.”
Despite his bad impression in New England and his injury-shortened college career, the coaching staff still saw something in Gronk, as they traded up to pick him in the second round. The rest, as they say, is history.
The risk clearly paid off for the Patriots, as Gronk went on to become one of the best tight ends of all time after being selected to five Pro Bowls, four First-Team All-Pro teams, and winning three Super Bowls. The only thing missing from his resume is a Hall of Fame induction, and that’s sure to come soon.
