Week 6 at New York Jets
Rob Gronkowski is practicing on a limited basis this week. His status for Week 6 is not a 100% lock, but it's looking good. Obviously, you start him every game he's active, but just make sure you have a back-up plan.
Week 5 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rob Gronkowski is OUT for Thursday Night Football.
Week 4 vs. Carolina Panthers
The Patriots have the highest implied team total of Week 4 in Vegas with 29 points. If Lloyd Christmas played fantasy football, he'd say, "That sounds good. I'll have that." Fire up Gronk in Week 4. He's matchup proof. You know that. He has also scored in back-to-back weeks, averaging 9.5 targets in that span.
Week 3 vs. Houston Texans
The Patriots are double-digit home favorites against the Texans and have the highest Vegas implied team total for the second week in a row at 29 points. In his last two games against the Texans in which he played starter snaps, Gronkowski has scored on Houston in both cases. But if you own Gronk, you already know you're starting him when healthy.
Week 2 at New Orleans Saints
The Patriots have the highest implied total in Vegas for Week 2, despite playing on the road, with an absurd implied total of 31 points. You're going to want to start most Patriots in Week 2. Obviously, that includes Rob Gronkowski, who could easily be the top tight end in Week 2.
Week 1 vs. Chiefs
In the 2015 postseason, Rob Gronkowski torched the Chiefs for two touchdowns on seven receptions and 83 yards. Fire him up in your starting lineups after a healthy preseason. He's one of our top-two Week 1 options at the position, along with Travis Kelce who will play in the same Thursday night opener. If playing DFS, there may be better values. Check our lineup generators if you have a DFS subscription to find those for 50-50 and double-up contests.
Fantasy Upside
When healthy, Rob Gronkowski's remains the elite tight end option in fantasy football. In the five games he played at least 80 percent of snaps, Gronk averaged 19 PPR fantasy points per game. For context, Jordan Reed led all tight ends in 2017 with 14.1 fantasy points per week.
Fantasy Downside
Can Gronkowski stay healthy? That's been the question for one of the best all-time tight ends after he's missed at least half the season in two of the past four years.
2017 Bottom Line
In the past two seasons, it would have cost you a first or early-second round pick to get Gronk in most drafts. Entering 2017, his ADP is still in the mid-to-late second round, despite the injury concerns. His upside is undeniable, but how lucky do you feel?
Week 10 vs. Seattle
Rob Gronkowski had 5 catches for 109 yards on seven targets in a 41-25 win against the Bills in Week 8 before the bye. He appears to have fully recovered from his hamstring injury and is back to his usual dominant self since Tom Brady returned to the lineup in Week 5. Even as a tight end, he boasts an absurd 33 percent market share of Air Yards over the past four games, a predictive stat for big plays. He is essentially matchup-proof but the Seahawks are middle of the pack in TE aFPA. Gronk will be an elite TE1 against the Bills in Week 8.
Week 8 at Buffalo
Rob Gronkowski had for catches for 93 yards on four targets against the Steelers last week in a 27-16 win. He appears to have fully recovered from his hamstring injury and is back to his usual dominant self since Tom Brady returned to the lineup in Week 5. In the past four games, Gronk leads the Patriots in target share of air yards (25.52 percent) and that includes Week 4 where he ran just 13 total routes. He is essentially matchup-proof at this point. Gronk will be an elite TE1 against the Bills in Week 8.
Week 7 at Pittsburgh
Rob Gronkowski had seven catches for 162 yards on seven targets in New England's 33-13 win against the Bengals in a 35-17 win last week. Gronk appears to have fully recovered from his hamstring injury (he wasn’t even on the injury report this week) that caused him to miss the first two games of the season. He's been back to his usual dominant self since Tom Brady returned to the lineup in Week 5, with back-to-back 100 yard games. Gronk will be high-end TE1 against the Steelers and is matchup proof once again.
