After a year in retirement, tight end Rob Gronkowski was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What is his fantasy football outlook for the 2020 season?
The return of football this fall also means the return of Rob Gronkowski to the NFL sidelines. After a year out of the league and really enjoying retirement, Gronkowski was traded by the New England Patriots along with a seventh-round pick for a fourth-round pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’ll be reunited with his former quarterback Tom Brady.
While this is awesome news for football fans and especially Buccaneers fans, what is the fantasy football outlook for Gronkowski now that he’ll begin a new chapter of his Pro Football Hall of Fame in a Tampa Bay uniform? The Fantasy Footballers have you covered on that.
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The guys view Gronkowski as a sure-fire TE1 again in fantasy football. This means Gronkowski will end up being one of the 12 best tight ends during next fantasy football season, thus, he’s your fantasy football team’s starter at the position. However, they have their doubts about him asserting himself up into top-five status league-wide and here is why.
The top three tight ends in football are in some order Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers and Zach Ertz of the Philadelphia Eagles. Barring injury, they will all be top-five fantasy tight ends without much of an issue. This leaves only two spots available for Gronkowski to take in the top-five fantasy tight end market. It’s just not happening.
While Gronkowski has a tremendous rapport with Brady, this will be in a new offensive system with the Buccaneers. The vertical passing game is very much a part of what Bruce Arians does offensively. Though Gronkowski and Brady could assimilate quickly, there will be an adjustment period. Had they played another year in New England together, top-five status was possible.
Ultimately, Gronkowski can have a productive year with the 2020 Buccaneers. Frankly, he’ll be a big reason for Tampa Bay ending its decade-plus postseason drought if the Buccaneers do accomplish that this fall. However, don’t overdraft Gronkowski as your TE1 this upcoming fantasy season. Though he’ll still be a good player, he’s not the fantasy darling he used to be years ago.