As he prepares to take his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend, Tony Gonzalez was inevitably asked about another of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, Patriots soon-to-be-Hall-of-Famer Rob Gronkowski.
When asked by NBC Sports Boston Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran where Gronk fits in the evolution of the position, Gonzalez, a basketball as well as a football player at Cal, used an interesting NBA analogy.
"I always say that we [tight ends] are [like] centers in the NBA," Gonzalez said. "He is Shaquille O'Neal. Like a physical specimen of athleticism. He's just huge [6-foot-6, 265 pounds, Gonzalez is 6-5, 247]. That his biggest gift. His biggest advantage is that he's just bigger and stronger than everybody. And playing with a guy like Tom Brady, that's awesome."
As for who's the greatest tight end? Gonzalez won't single anyone out - at any position.
"I don't believe in GOATS," he said. "I don't care who you are. I don't care if it's Tom [Brady] or Peyton [Manning] or me or Gronk, anybody like that. You're just one of the GOATs."
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