Rob Gronkowski is expected to start and be healthy for Week 1, but fantasy football owners are being very cautious and if they are worried about starting him, Tim Wright is a very good sleeper pickup for the first stretch run, as he has the ability to be a receiver off the line of scrimmage after his trade and while Gronk says he is healthy, it might not be enough to convince fantasy owners to start him.
Reports have Gronkowski limited this week in practice, but all signs point to him starting in Week 1 against the Dolphins, which is a solid matchup for him as a TE. The Patriots are dying for him to be healthy, as Tom Brady has better touchdown and interception numbers when he is on the field. Gronk is as good of a player at his position as anyone in the league, but after two years of injuries, the biggest question is whether or not he can remain healthy.
Luckily for fantasy owners, Gronk and the Pats play at 1 pm ET and that means they have time to see whether or not he will be in the lineup and can change up before the later games. The trade for Tim Wright is big for the Patriots for a number of reasons, including the health of Gronk. The Patriots said the status of Gronk had nothing to do with the deal and while that might not be totally true, it's probably is mostly true because of the different sizes of the two players.
Wright can come in and replace Gronk if he is hurt, but the main reason he is there is so that the Patriots can get back to their break and butter with two solid TEs. Losing Aaron Hernandez last year was massive for the Pats, as he was an all-purpose player with the size and speed to lineup in the backfield and split out wide like a WR. The Patriots were missing that and Gronk last season, giving Brady a hard time, as he had a number of untested receivers to work with.
The Patriots were fantastic with Gronk and Hernandez and now they have a player that can serve as a Hernandez stand in and if Gronk remains healthy, the Pats have the chance to be one of the best offenses in the league. Gronk could be the most dominant fantasy football player in the league this season, but it all depends on whether he actually can stay on the field. That wasn't an issue for Gronk in his first two seasons, as he played in all 16 games, but over the past two he has missed six games and then nine games and now he is hoping to be on the field all season.
Gronk still put up great numbers overall based on when he was on the field, putting up 15 touchdowns over the past two seasons in 18 games. Last season he had 39 catches for 592 yards and the previous season he had 55 catches for 790 yards and 11 TDs in 11 games. The season before he was insane, going for 90 catches for 1300 yards and 17 TDs and that is what the Pats want. Wright is an athletic player and he was solid last season with 54 catches for 571 yards and five touchdowns and could be a sleeper replacement for Gronk.