EBF said:
I think we've established a long time ago that I'm not as high on Gresham as you are. You can keep insisting that he's the next Tony Gonzalez. That doesn't mean there's any merit to the claim.
Draft Scout had Gronkowski as the top TE in the 2011 class:
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dspro...1&genpos=TE
Gronkowski and Oklahoma’s Jermaine Gresham, who missed last season because of a knee injury, are considered the two most talented tight ends in the draft. Gronkowski could have applied for a medical redshirt at Arizona, so he leaves behind two years of eligibility. He said Friday he has hired powerhouse sports agent Drew Rosenhaus. - Anthony Gimino, The Tucson Citizen
I don't think there will be a clear consensus among pro personnel people that Gresham is "head and shoulders above" the rest of the TEs in the draft. Most of the rankings I've seen have him clustered pretty tightly together with guys like Hernandez and McCoy. Add Gronkowski into the mix and it's likely that the #1 TE on teams' boards will vary wildly.
Gresham has several things working in his favor that will become more evident to all as the evaluation and information process continues. First and foremost, he is the best "hands catcher" in the draft, amongst not only TEs, but also amongst all WRs and RBs as well. This guy catches the ball away from his body at an elite level already, which for big targets is a huge plus to have going for you as this trait alone allows a player to gain separation in traffic by extending their long arms, in his case, very long, out to catch balls away from potentially closely guarding defenders. Add that his hands are extremely strong and reliable. Next, by being such a huge guy, Gresham is viewed as an in-line TE, and combined with his athleticism and skill-level an in-line TE of his caliber is much more valued by NFL people. As an illustration, teams such as Cincinnati, Cleveland, Baltimore, N.E., amongst others good and bad, will highly value a guy of his skill-level in that many of these teams already have at least a good offensive line and are adept at running the ball (and consider the running game to be a vital part of their attack), so adding a TE who certainly has the body to be at least a pretty good blocker (and I also hear reports of his desire to be willing in this regard) is more valued to NFL teams, as evidenced by Pettigrew last year being the top-rated TE over the other more athletic H-Back/WR type TEs in the '09 draft. And Gresham is a much more fluid and dynamic athlete than Pettigrew at the same (or bigger) size, and I don't want to get off track and diminish his receiving skills by mentioning all of this blocking stuff, but the kid's receiving skills are truly elite and these teams, esp Cincy, Baltimore, N.E., Miami, and Cleveland will not lose sight of this.
Finally, I don't believe, although I am not a doctor, that his type of knee injury will be a major concern with regards to his long-term durability as the injury wasn't to any ligament IIRC. Whereas Gronkowski has had back surgery, and your back is as important of a body part as there is with regards to an athlete, or for that matter, with regards to any human period....Playing a sport with a bad knee vs a bad back is quite different
Gronkowski is very good, I'm not taking anything away from him. And Hernandez is a very smooth athlete with high-end RAC ability, which will also make him an intriguing and highly valued prospect, but the in-line TE/great athlete combination will serve Gresham very well over this evaluation process and I have very little doubt that he will be the clear #1 TE on practically every team's draft board when the dust settles.
ETA: This is an excellent route and over the shoulder catch, for a WR let alone a TE.....focus on the initial "skip move" to begin the route as it shows superb footwork and agility for a big guy and is the key to how he got open here