Over the past couple of weeks, multiple players and coaches have paid their respects to now-former Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski after he elected to retire from the NFL.
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels is now the latest to laud the career of Gronkowski. McDaniels was Gronkowski’s offensive coordinator for seven of the tight end’s nine seasons with the New England Patriots.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, McDaniels took some time to reflect on Gronkowski’s tenure in the NFL. McDaniels has coached numerous stout offensive players over his ongoing run in the league, but to him, the four-time Super Bowl-winning tight end was simply one-of-a-kind.
“There are a lot of guys that get split out but they don’t do anything,” McDaniels said. “Rob could catch touchdowns or create big plays as the widest guy on the field, as the slot receiver, as the traditional tight end, and he could do it with an array of different routes.
“You put a corner on him, he’s too little. You put a linebacker on him, he’s too slow. You put a safety on him, he’s just not agile enough.”
In his second and third years as Patriots offensive coordinator, McDaniels had the golden opportunity to work with Randy Moss. The Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver was well known for his keen catch radius, which made it even more difficult for opposing cornerbacks to contain his presence on the field.
For McDaniels, he sees that Gronkowski’s catch radius made him quite unstoppable as well over the course of his career.
“That’s what made him, his size, his skill, his catch radius was the best I ever coached, him and Randy [Moss],” McDaniels said.
“Anytime the ball was near him, they talk about wingspan in the NBA, Rob’s catch radius was unbelievable, and his hands were an 11 on a scale of 1–10. It was really difficult to stop.”
From the four Super Bowl wins to the multitude of records that he holds, the former Buccaneers tight end sure made a strong case to be called the best player ever to feature at his position.
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