Did Rob Gronkowski really sleep during pre-draft visit? Bill Belichick reveals ex-Patriots TE's embarrassing moment
Rob Gronkowski was drafted in the second round in 2010, and few would have predicted that he would go on to become the best player in his position ever.
Gronk played for the University of Arizona and was not one of the draft's most anticipated prospects. Bill Belichick has stated that the New England Patriots took a risk by moving up to pick him because his pre-draft visit was pretty embarrassing.
Here's what Belichick said about Gronk's pre-draft moment:
"Rob was kind of a shot in the dark. He came up on his pre draft visit, had a bad visit. We put him in a room came back, he was asleep on the floor, didn't make a very good impression."
Belichick continued:
"I brought him in, we just kind of, you know, we're getting ready to, you know, have meet with the coaches and go through and then fell asleep on the floor. So, there wasn't much to go on. We traded up for him and we just kind of, you know, bet that he would come through and he certainly did..."
He added:
"In the building, there's no better teammate. He works extremely hard, he had a great catch radius for kind of as stiff as he is. He could get balls on a shoelaces he could get them over his head and he can get them behind them."
Although Rob Gronkowski's pre-draft visit with the New England Patriots didn't leave a good impression, the tight end made sure to put in the work. In the end, he left the franchise as one of the best to ever play the game.
Gronk was a key part of the Patriots' 2010 dynasty, as he and Tom Brady created an unstoppable tandem that will be remembered forever.
Rob Gronkowski won three Super Bowls with Bill Belichick
In 2015, 2017, and 2019, Gronk and coach Bill Belichick won three Super Bowls together. While Bill Belichick is widely regarded as the greatest head coach in the history of the NFL, Gronk is perhaps the greatest tight end to ever play in the game, which demonstrates how outstanding the Patriots' system has been over the previous two decades.
"Gronk wasn't done with football. He was done with Belichick."
@ColinCowherd reacts to Rob Gronkowski joining Tom Brady in Tampa Bay: https://t.co/cxwETshZ3R
Patriots fans will remember how the trio of Bill Belichick, Rob Gronkowski, and Tom Brady delivered prolonged success, and the biggest narrative about it was that both Brady and Gronk had incredible draft stories.