"LeBron James would've been an absolute monster" - Patriots icon Rob Gronkowski dissects Lakers star's NFL potential
Rob Gronkowski is considered one of the most intelligent players in NFL history, being able to know how to find running and blocking routes. That makes him a uniquely qualified individual when it comes to assessing someone's gridiron potential.
On Tuesday's episode of former New England Patriots teammate Julian Edelman's "Games with Names" podcast, when the four-time Super Bowl champion tight end was asked about how LA Lakers star LeBron James would fare in the NFL, he said:
"LeBron would have been an absolute monster on the football field. I can kind of see him being like the hybrid F tight end. He's just so tall, but he's got the athleticism.
"I think Coach (Pete) Carroll offered him a roster spot up in Seattle. I just was hoping to see that happen. I just wanted to see his athleticism translate to the football field because I seen his highlights, his high school highlights, and guy's just an absolute beast."
Rob Gronkowski discusses Patriots' win over Broncos in 2011-12 divisional round
In the podcast appearance, Rob Gronkowski discussed the 2011-12 AFC divisional round playoff game between the Patriots and Tim Tebow's Denver Broncos.
During that game, Tom Brady threw a playoff-record six touchdown passes. Three of them went to his tight end, as New England won 45-10 to set up an AFC championship game showdown with the Baltimore Ravens.
"It was like, 'Who gives a (expletive) about Tebowmania? Let's end this (expletive). Let's go shut this guy down.' And we absolutely ruined Tebowmania's career," Gronkowski recalled (Timestamp: 1:12.43.)
"The hardest offenses to defend against are no-huddle, two-tight end. So, we had two-tight end personnel (Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez) out there running no-huddle. That's unstoppable. That's why we're going down the field in five plays and scoring just like that."
He also discusses Brady's punt that pinned the Broncos at their own 10 and caused a brawl (Timestamp: 1:14:45):
"Von Miller's the one who started the brawl. He did not like that. We were trolling them with the pooch punt."
The Patriots defeated the Ravens 23-20 to advance to Super Bowl XLVI, where they lost 21-17 to the New York Giants. The Broncos, meanwhile, traded Tebow to the New York Jets in the offseason, paving the way for them to sign Peyton Manning in free agency.