Future Pro Football Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski is one of the best tight ends to ever play in the NFL. He was a second-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and played his first nine seasons for the New England Patriots.
Gronkowski recently told a story that another AFC team likely would have drafted him if not for a pair of draft-day trades.
Rob Gronkowski Could Have Been Drafted by the Baltimore Ravens if Not for Draft-Day Trades
Gronkowski was the second tight end off the board that year and quickly became a weapon in New England’s offense. He posted just 42 receptions and 546 yards but scored 10 touchdowns as a rookie.
He developed into Tom Brady’s favorite target in 2011. The tight end totaled 90 catches and 1,327 yards and led the league with 17 touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl and was named first-team All-Pro for his efforts.
He won his first Super Bowl and Comeback Player of the Year in 2014. He totaled 82 receptions, 1,124 yards, and 12 scores returning from multiple knee tears the year before. he won two more Super Bowls before retiring after the 2018 season.
Gronkowski is synonymous with the Patriots’ dynasty, but there was a chance he never played for New England. He recently told a story claiming that the Baltimore Ravens wanted to draft him in 2010. However, they never had a chance to pick him as they traded out of the first round, then New England traded up just before Baltimore.
TheRavensNestPodcast tweeted a clip from a recent episode of Gronkowski’s “Dudes on Dudes” podcast with fellow former Patriot Julian Edleman. The tweet read, “On a recent episode of the @DudesOnDudesPod former Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski talks about how the Ravens were supposed to take him in the 2010 NFL Draft, before New England took the future 4x All-Pro with the 42nd pick. What could’ve been with Flacco and Gronkowski.”
On a recent episode of the @DudesOnDudesPod former Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski talks about how the Ravens were supposed to take him in the 2010 NFL Draft, before New England took the future 4x All-Pro with the 42nd pick
What could’ve been with Flacco and Gronkowski😳😭
(🎥:… pic.twitter.com/ehfOlzazv1
— TheRavensNestPodcast (@FlockNationOG) May 6, 2025
In the clip, Gronkowski said, “The Baltimore Ravens were gonna pick me. I think it was the 25th pick that they had in the draft, but then Denver and Josh McDaniels came scooping in and traded with the Baltimore Ravens. The Denver Broncos took Tim Tebow. I just got booted out of the first round.
“The Ravens have the 43rd pick now. Well, then the New England Patriots got a sniff of it, and they traded up one spot before the Baltimore Ravens at No. 42, where I got drafted. I also heard through a grapevine that if I didn’t get drafted to the New England Patriots, Greg Olsen was gonna get traded that day for a draft pick to the New England Patriots, because the Patriots were looking for a tight end.”
Baltimore won Super Bowl 47 two years after Gronkowski was drafted, with Dennis Pitta as the team’s top tight end option. Pitta totaled 61 catches, 669 yards, and seven touchdowns that season. He added 14 receptions, 163 yards, and three more scores in the playoffs.
Gronkowski returned in 2020 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won another Super Bowl before retiring for good after the 2021 season. He’s likely happy with how his time in New England went, but Ravens fans will be kicking themselves thinking about what could have been back in 2010.