The Greatest Patriots Tight Ends of All Time — Rob Gronkowski Stands Alone
Rob Gronkowski just did the ceremonial thing star players now do: he signed a one-day contract with his longtime team so he could officially retire as a Patriot.
Although, come to think of it… shouldn’t New England technically have to cut someone from the active roster to make room for Gronk? Even for one day?
Anyway.
Gronk’s career was one of the great joys to follow — from the moment the Patriots took a chance on him in the second round of the 2010 draft, to the final time he spiked a football in a Patriots' uniform. He was a unicorn: a physical monster on the field and an exuberant little kid off it. In an era overflowing with quiet, PR-trained athletes, Gronk was unapologetically himself.
And yet beneath the goofy, fun-loving personality was the meanest bouncer you've ever encountered.
Make no mistake: Rob Gronkowski wasn’t just one of the greatest tight ends the league has ever seen. He was one of the greatest players, at any position, period.
So let’s take a look at my list of the five greatest tight ends in New England Patriots history.
BEST PATRIOTS TIGHT ENDS OF ALL-TIME
#1 – Rob Gronkowski
No surprise here. The Patriots have been lucky to have had some great tight ends in their history. The same can not be said for wide receivers, but I digress.
Drafted 42nd overall out of Arizona, Gronk slipped because he missed the prior college season due to back surgery. Bill Belichick loved that kind of draft-day value gamble. And he doubled down later in that same draft by selecting Aaron Hernandez in the fourth round — another gifted player whose stock fell due to, well… character issues.
Many questioned taking two tight ends in the same draft, but for two and a half seasons, the Gronk–Hernandez tag team was as dangerous as any offensive tandem in the NFL.
In Gronkowski's second season, he broke out and had – what would turn out to be – his best season of an illustrious career. With Aaron Hernandez catching 79 passes for 910 yards and 7 touchdowns on his other side, Gronk racked up 90 catches for 1,327 yards and an incredible 17 touchdowns. The "Gronk Spike" was born.
Gronk would win three Super Bowls with the Patriots, and one more with Tampa Bay. But we don't want to talk about that one here.
#2 – BEN COATES
Before there was Rob Gronkowski in New England, there was big Ben Coates. Ben Coates was to Drew Bledsoe what Gronk was to Tom Brady. Coates didn't have nearly as big a pedigree as Gronkowski. Coates played football and basketball at a small division II college, Livingstone College. The school is so small I couldn't even find a breakdown of his year-by-year stats anywhere online.
Coates was a fifth-round pick by the Patriots in 1991 and he didn't see much playing time his first two seasons – catching a combined 30 passes for 266 yards. But everything changed when Bill Parcells and Drew Bledsoe arrived in 1993. Gone were Hugh Millen, Tommy Hodson, and Scott Zolak (sorry, Zo). Coates finally had a quarterback who could feed him the football.
Bledsoe started relying on Coates as his security blanket. In Drew's second season, Coates broke out with 96 receptions for 1174 yards and 7 touchdowns. Those numbers would be excellent for a tight end today — and were utterly unprecedented in 1994.
Coates could catch a pass with three defenders draped on him, absorb a brutal hit, bounce off tacklers, and fight for twenty more yards. He was a bull with a football uniform on.
It is too bad his career with the Patriots ended in 1999 – after nine seasons with New England – just before the Patriots' dynasties would take off.
#3 – RUSS FRANCIS
Russ Francis — who tragically passed away in 2023 — was one of the original prototype athletic tight ends. An experienced pilot for nearly fifty years, Francis died when his single-engine Cessna lost power near Lake Placid, New York.
Francis looked like a movie star: imagine a young Tom Selleck, or Burt Reynolds, who was 6'6", 250 pounds, and could run like a gazelle.
Francis was drafted in the first round by the Patriots in 1975 with the 16th overall pick. Like Gronkowski, he didn't play his final year in college due to an injury.
His rookie season with the Patriots, he averaged an amazing 18.2 yards per reception. He would become Steve Grogan's go-to guy for six seasons. Howard Cosell once called Francis an "All-World Tight End."
His time in New England ended in a contract dispute, and he went on to win a Super Bowl with Joe Montana and the 49ers in 1985. Francis returned briefly to the Patriots in 1987, but injuries caught up with him, and he retired soon after.
#4 – MARV COOK
Poor Marv Cook. If Ben Coates was Rob Gronkowski before Rob Gronkowski came along, Marv Cook was Hunter Henry before there was a Hunter Henry. Cook wasn't flashy. He just got open and caught everything that was thrown his way.
Cook played during one of the bleakest stretches in franchise history: the post–Super Bowl XX hangover, the drug scandals, the sexual harassment lawsuits, the near-relocations… all of it. Before Kraft. Before Parcells. Before Bledsoe.
Cook just kept his nose clean (pun intended) and did his job. Belichick would have loved him. He played four seasons for the Patriots and never missed a game. His best season was in 1991 when he had 83 receptions for 871 yards and 4 touchdowns. He was a first-team All-Pro that year despite the team being 6-10 and being coached by Dick MacPherson. If you remember Coach from Cheers, that was Dick MacPherson.
Cook caught passes from Hugh Millen that season. Millen had a total of 22 career touchdown passes in eight seasons. That alone should get Cook into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
#5 – HUNTER HENRY
How do I know Belichick would have loved Marv Cook? Because when Belichick started realizing, post-Brady, that maybe it is not the head coach that makes the team and he decided to go on a spending spree in free agency to get some real players, one of the first players he signed was Hunter Henry.
Just like Marv Cook, Henry has been a steady influence during a dark time in Patriots' history. He hasn't been spectacular, but he has been sure-handed and reliable. Known as injury-prone when he arrived, he has missed only four games in five seasons with New England.
His best season came just last year when Drake Maye took over as starting quarterback. He had 66 catches for 674 yards. In 2021, he had 9 touchdowns – catching passes from rookie Mac Jones.
Henry turns 31 next month and remains under contract through the end of next season. There’s still room — and reason — to believe his best Patriots football may be ahead of him.
Final Thoughts
Throughout Patriots history, the franchise has been blessed at the tight end position. From Francis to Coates to Gronk, every generation of New England fans has had a tight end who helped redefine the position. And fittingly, each of those top three tight ends was paired with one of the top three quarterbacks in Patriots history.
As New England transitions into the Drake Maye era, Hunter Henry continues that lineage — dependable, productive, and essential. Could someone even better emerge on the horizon? Time will tell.
But one thing is certain:
There will never be another Rob Gronkowski.
Not just because of his statistics — though they’re awe-inspiring — but because of the joy, the craziness, the unpredictability, and the kid-like energy he brought to an era built on stoicism and meticulousness.
Gronk was a unicorn, a true champion, and the greatest tight end the Patriots have ever had.
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