I’ve noticed a lot of hand-wringing in the comment section as the Patriots over-looked Rob Gronkowski’s successor in the 2019 NFL Draft. Simply put, Rob Gronkowski is a generational talent and no one will ever replace what he did for this franchise.
Here is a list of everyone I could find that has lined up at Tight End for the Patriots since 2000. The guys that Bill Belichick has chosen to be good enough for his team. One name I omitted, Cameron Fleming, was an offensive tackle that spent a good deal of time as a blocking TE when Rob Gronkowski was injured.