Rob Gronkowski Names Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates Over Travis Kelce in His Mount Rushmore of NFL Tight Ends

Rob Gronkowski's tight end Mount Rushmore contains Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Travis Kelce and Shannon Sharpe.

Rob Gronkowski Names Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates Over Travis Kelce in His Mount Rushmore of NFL Tight Ends

Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski (Image via IMAGO)

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Ahead of the New England Patriots’ week 11 game at Foxborough, Rob Gronkowski shared his Mount Rushmore of NFL tight ends. Gronk did not include himself on the list.

The Amazon Prime crew gave Gronk the tough task of selecting names for the tight end Mount Rushmore. Gronk took on the challenge and revealed their names.

Tony Gonzalez became the first to receive a nod from Gronk. He picked Gonzalez for being a 6-time All-Pro and all-time leader in receiving yards (15,127) for tight ends, and not because Tony G sat right next to him in the Amazon Prime booth.

Gronk commended Gonzalez for playing until the age of 37, while he retired at 32 after securing a third ring.

You should have shared some secrets… Because you play to what age, 37? I am 36 right now, so if I was you I would still have one more year, which would have been amazing.

Rob Gronkowski said

His next pick turned out to be Los Angeles Chargers legend Antonio Gates, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025. For the third spot, he picked the 3x Super Bowl winner and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

What [Travis Kelce] is doing is very remarkable.

Gronk said

Usually, four names complete Mount Rushmore. Gronk had to think long and hard for the final name before mentioning 3x Super Bowl champion and HOF TE Shannon Sharpe.

He was running down that field like no other. Like he could move, he could run by defenders, and he could create that deep ball, which is rare for a tight end to be able to do.

Gronk said about Sharpe

On Wednesday, a day before the Patriots-Jets tie at Gillette Stadium, Gronkowski signed a one-day contract and retired as a Patriot for life.

Rob Gronkowski compared the Patriots squad to the dynasty

The Bill Belichick-Tom Brady dynasty roped in six rings for the Boston franchise. It fizzled out after Belichick and Brady parted ways in 2020.

Rob Gronkowski Names Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates Over Travis Kelce in His Mount Rushmore of NFL Tight Ends
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (Image via IMAGO)

Owner Robert Kraft’s effort to rebuild the team led them to fire Belichick and shuffling through four different quarterbacks. In 2024, they drafted University of North Carolina graduate Drake Maye and a year later appointed former Patriots tight end Mike Vrabel as head coach.

The current Patriots squad kicked off a seven-game winning streak with victories over the Raiders, Bills, and Buccaneers. While they still have a long way to go before reaching the heights of the Brady era, Gronkowski notices plenty of similarities between the two teams.

They’re playing together as a team. When you play together as a team, you necessarily don’t need that big-time playmaker. And that’s what everyone was saying at the beginning of the year, and that’s what everyone said with us at the beginning of the year as well. ‘Oh, we need that explosive guy. We need to trade for a No. 1 wide receiver, blah, blah, blah.’ But it doesn’t matter.

Rob Gronkowski told Mark Daniels of MassLive

On Thursday, the Patriots extended their streak to eight games with a 27-14 win against the Jets. Maye threw 25 completions (73.5%) for 281 passing yards and 1 touchdown. Rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson was the star of the game, accumulating 93 total yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, and 1 receiving touchdown. Veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs caught 9 passes for 105 yards.

Maye, who is among the three favorites for the league MVP, improved his season tally to 230 completions from 320 pass attempts for 2836 yards, 22 overall touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.

The Patriots are 9-2, sitting atop the AFC East, with upcoming matchups against the Bills, Giants, Jets, Bengals, Dolphins, and Ravens.

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