Rob Gronkowski’s legend is surely going to grow in retirement. That seems to be when the best stories come from and about a New England Patriot.
Coach Bill Belichick shared an epic anecdote about the tight end’s visit to Gillette Stadium during the pre-draft process in 2010. Gronk was coming out of Arizona, and had the same reputation that he has now. He was a strong player, who had an injury history. He also didn’t shy away from a party. So that’s why Belichick wasn’t pleased to find Gronk sleeping on the floor before a meeting with the Patriots.
Gronk made an interesting first impression on his pre-draft visit to Foxboro 😂@RobGronkowski | #NFL100 pic.twitter.com/qewRBD0CEw
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 14, 2019
Here’s what Belichick said about the moment:
“Rob was kind of a shot in the dark. He came up on his pre-draft visit, had a bad visit. We put him in a room, came back, he was asleep on the floor. Didn’t make a very good impression. … I brought him in, you know, we’re getting ready to have a meeting with the coaches and go through, then fell asleep on the floor. Oh boy. Kind of got a slow start there. Went to Arizona, didn’t start as a freshman, had a decent year as a sophomore. Caught 30 passes, and then misses junior year with back surgery. Then came out early for the draft. So there wasn’t much to go on. We traded up for him and we just bet that he would come through. He certainly did big-time.”
Ultimately, it didn’t matter. In wild twist of events, Belichick decided to take a chance on Gronk. The Patriots traded up to get the tight end in the second round, and he made them glad they did.
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