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Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham?

Playoffs

Playoffs

Hall of Fame
Why Rob Gronkowski Is Still the NFL's Top Tight End Ahead of Jimmy Graham
These two mammoths are likely to compete for the mantle of "NFL's Best Tight End" this year.

Graham has been an outstanding player for a while now, but he really opened up the debate between he and Gronkowski last year. While Gronkowski missed most of 2013 due to injury, Graham's 16 touchdown receptions almost equaled the record for tight ends (17) that Gronk set in 2011.

The Saints star finished the year with 88 receptions for 1,215 yards and 16 touchdowns in 16 regular-season games. In just seven regular-season games, Gronkowski compiled 39 receptions for 592 yards and four touchdowns.

Gronkowski's numbers project to 89 receptions for 1,353 yards and nine touchdowns over a full 16-game season. While the projections suggest that Graham would have had significantly more touchdowns, the Patriots tight end's history suggests that he wouldn't have been held to fewer than 10 scores.

Entering the 2013 season, Gronkowski had 38 career touchdowns in three seasons. Even when he played in only 11 games in 2012, he still finished the year with 11 scores. Graham, on the other hand, had exceeded nine touchdowns only once in the three seasons before 2013.

Catch Radius

If the NFL had a skills competition designed for pass-catchers, Gronkowski and Graham would likely compete with Calvin Johnson in any jump-ball contest. All three players have...

Route-Running

Neither Graham nor Gronkowski are impressive route-runners; they're both way too big and like to push off a bit too much. Each often gets open by...

Contested Catches

Contested catches are an inevitable aspect of being an NFL receiver, and no more so than for tight ends. For a tight end such as...

YAC

Both Graham and Gronkowski are effective with the ball in their hands.

Neither player is exceptionally elusive, though. When you're 6'6" and over 260 pounds, your skills as an open-field runner are probably limited. Rather, Graham and Gronkowski use their size and power when they have the ball in their hands to swat defenders away.

That ability to fend off defenders or drag them along complements the impressive speed that both players boast.

Run Blocking

When Gronkowski is on the field for the Patriots, the offense is essentially playing with six offensive linemen. Not only is he a...

Overall

When we enter the hypothetical world of unblemished health for both players, Gronkowski is the better tight end. It's not even a close contest. Graham may be the clear second-best tight end in the NFL, but he's not close to a healthy Gronkowski.

That hypothetical world isn't the one we live in, though.

In the real world, choosing between Gronkowski and Graham is all about durability versus consistency.

Gronkowski will be labeled as injury prone—a label that is both fair and unfair. It's fair because injury prone is a label that is given to people who have suffered repeated injuries, but it's unfair because those injuries don't necessarily suggest he will be injured again.

Matthew Stafford is a great example of how the injury-prone label should only be used to look backwards rather than forwards. Stafford missed 19 of his first 32 games in the NFL because of different injuries. Since then, he has started every single game the Detroit Lions have played over the last three seasons.

When you include injuries, the choice would seemingly be Graham.

However, we shouldn't simply pick Graham because of fear. We must also consider the value and consistency of Gronkowski. Graham wastes a lot of opportunities that Gronkowski doesn't. The Patriot TE is significantly more consistent than his Saint counterpart and, in turn, makes a greater impact.

By suggesting Graham is better than Gronkowski because of health, you are limiting yourself to arguing on behalf of the second-best player at the position.

Another aspect of this that must be considered is age. Gronkowski is 25 years of age and he won't turn 26 until roughly midway through the 2015 calendar year. Graham, on the other hand, is likely nearing the end of his prime, as he will be 28 years old before the end of this season.

Graham can't afford to physically slow down. Comparisons to Tony Gonzalez will be inevitable, but Gonzalez was a much more efficient receiver.
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I would put Graham ahead of Gronk simply due to injuries. 2 years in a row Gronk has missed significant playing time.

You can be the best player in the world and it means absolutely nothing if you can't stay healthy.
 
Gronkowski will be labeled as injury prone—a label that is both fair and unfair. It's fair because injury prone is a label that is given to people who have suffered repeated injuries, but it's unfair because those injuries don't necessarily suggest he will be injured again.
Click to expand...

This is just dead wrong. Gronk is the poster child for proper use of the term injury prone. It's a repeat injury with poor knitting and infection problems in a spot which will inevitably bear the brunt of hard impacts again with his full body weight. Without that, sure I'd take Gronk. With it, hands down Graham.
 
Is Terrell Davis better than Barry Sanders? Give me the guy who does it consistently.
 
Gronk.

Jimmy Graham insists he is a WR, so it is a one horse race.

They should use compare Graham's numbers to WRs if/when HOF discussion about him comes about.

:kitten:
 
chicagotexan2 said:
I'd take Bennie Jopru over either of these bums.
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Joppru will be labeled as injury prone—a label that is both fair and unfair. It's fair because injury prone is a label that is given to people who have suffered repeated injuries, but it's unfair because those injuries don't necessarily suggest he will be injured again.
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Hall of Fame baby!
 
If you took injury history out of this it is easily Gronk.


But since it has to be a part of the comparison, then it easily becomes Graham.


When they are both healthy there is nobody in history that balls like Gronk at the TE position. UNfortunately, by the time he retires he won't go down as that due to his injury problems.
 
PapaL said:
Is Terrell Davis better than Barry Sanders? Give me the guy who does it consistently.
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Barry Sanders was both more consistent and better, so that analogy doesn't really work.

Maybe a Terrell Davis/Frank Gore analogy would better make the point.
 
cdollaz said:
Barry Sanders was both more consistent and better, so that analogy doesn't really work.

Maybe a Terrell Davis/Frank Gore analogy would better make the point.
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I'm sure the analogy is pretty decent since they played at the same time and both had 2000 yard seasons; unlike Davis and Gore.

1997:
TD: 1750 yards 15 TDs 4.7/carry 116.7/game
BS: 2053 yards 11 TDs 6.1/carry 128.3/game

1998:
TD: 2008 yards 21 TDs 5.1/carry 125.5/game
BS: 1491 yards 4 TDs 4.3/carry 93.2/game

TD: 60 career rushing TDs in 78 games
BS: 99 career rushing TDs in 153 games

First 4 years in the league:
TD (95-98): 6413 yards
BS (89-92): 5674 yards

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DaviTe00.htm
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SandBa00.htm

Davis had a run that legends are made of, followed by injuries that busts are made of. The analogy is pretty accurate for Gronk and Graham in relation to where they currently sit. A healthy Frank Gore isn't in the same league a healthy Davis.
 
PapaL said:
I'm sure the analogy is pretty decent since they played at the same time and both had 2000 yard seasons; unlike Davis and Gore.

1997:
TD: 1750 yards 15 TDs 4.7/carry 116.7/game
BS: 2053 yards 11 TDs 6.1/carry 128.3/game

1998:
TD: 2008 yards 21 TDs 5.1/carry 125.5/game
BS: 1491 yards 4 TDs 4.3/carry 93.2/game

TD: 60 career rushing TDs in 78 games
BS: 99 career rushing TDs in 153 games

First 4 years in the league:
TD (95-98): 6413 yards
BS (89-92): 5674 yards

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DaviTe00.htm
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SandBa00.htm

Davis had a run that legends are made of, followed by injuries that busts are made of. The analogy is pretty accurate for Gronk and Graham in relation to where they currently sit. A healthy Frank Gore isn't in the same league a healthy Davis.
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Davis/Gore is a better analogy because there is an argument to be made that, even though Davis was better than Gore is, Gore's durability makes him the more desirable player. Your point, at least as you presented it, is that one may rather choose a lesser player for a longer period of time than a better player for a short amount of time.

Barry Sanders is in no way a lesser player than Davis, by any reasonable measure, so that analogy doesn't work.
 
cdollaz said:
Davis/Gore is a better analogy because there is an argument to be made that, even though Davis was better than Gore is, Gore's durability makes him the more desirable player. Your point, at least as you presented it, is that one may rather choose a lesser player for a longer period of time than a better player for a short amount of time.

Barry Sanders is in no way a lesser player than Davis, by any reasonable measure, so that analogy doesn't work.
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I think you're missing the point.
 
I think what really sets Graham and Gronk apart is the blocking aspects. We've seen Gronk throw down Suggs like it was nothing and then go catch a pass, with Graham you're getting more pass catcher much much less blocker.
 
infantrycak said:
I think you're missing the point.
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I re-read the original statement, and maybe I did. Upon re-reading, the poster seems to be saying that, all things being relatively equal, I'll take the guy that shows up every week.

I originally read it as preferring a lesser talent who has a long, consistent career to one who is great but always injured, with Barry Sanders being in the role of the lesser talent.
 
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