Former New England Patriots tight end was Rob Gronkowski named to the “NFL 100 All-Time Team” for his position. Who better to tell an ll-time story about Gronkowski than head coach Bill Belichick.

Before emerging as one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, Gronkowski was an overlooked prospect coming out of Arizona. Belichick says he did not exactly make the strangest of first impressions, via Ryan Hannable of WEEI:

“I brought him in and we're getting ready to meet with the coaches,” Belichick said on NFL Network. “He fell asleep on the floor.”

Belichick says the Patriots ultimately made the right move after taking him in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

“In the end once we got him here and once he got in the field, Rob was great,” Belichick said. “He was great. He had a great career here, but he was a great teammate. Everybody loved him and not because of his (personality) and all that, but just the way he competed and the type of teammate he was. Sometimes the first impression is not always the right one.”

There is no question that the decision wound up paying huge dividends for New England. Gronkowski would go on to be a four-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler while helping them win three Super Bowls. It is safe to say that his absence continues to be felt with all the speculation about him potentially coming out of retirement during the 2019 NFL season.

Although Gronkowski's career may have ended sooner than many had hoped, he still did more than enough to leave his mark as one of the best tight ends of all time.