Patriot TEs Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett spent notable time together during practice Thursday, at one point breaking away to the second field with Tom Brady to work close to the goal line. The pairing brought a smile to Gronkowski's face.
"He’s great, a great guy to work with. He’s football smart. He came in and has picked up the playbook very well, which is super, super beneficial here in our offense. So that’s super good to see," he said.
"It’s another guy who is super talented and just wants me to push harder too. Seeing his athleticism and how he gets off the ball, I can bring it in my game, use some of his routes. He can use some of mine, so it’s great to work off each other.”
This is similar to what the Patriots did last year with Gronkowski and Scott Chandler, but the results weren't what the team was hoping for, in part because Chandler battled a nagging knee injury. So they're trying it again this year, with Bennett representing an upgrade in talent alongside Gronkowski, the story said. Bennett is just 19th on our list but it’s feasible that both Gronkowski and Bennett could deliver TE1 numbers. It should be noted that the Patriots did not have a productive pass-catching running back that year with Aaron Hernandez, and Dion Lewis will see his share of targets out of the backfield. Bennett would have top-5 potential if anything were to happen to Gronk.
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