The greatest tight end of all time was almost a Raven.
The Baltimore Ravens have fielded an impressive list of star tight ends during their short tenure as a team, including Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, Todd Heap, Dennis Pitta, and Mark Andrews. The Ravens almost landed potentially the best tight end of all time to add to that list during the 2010 NFL Draft, however, the New England Patriots jumped one spot ahead of them in the second round to take Rob Gronkowski before they could.
Gronkowski recently revealed more information about the franchise-defining moment for the Patriots while speaking on the Dudes On Dudes podcast. The four-time Super Bowl champion tight end revealed that the Ravens were going to draft him in the first round with the No. 25 overall pick before trading out of the first round entirely with the Denver Broncos, who selected Heisman-winning quarterback Tim Tebow.
“The Ravens have the 43rd pick now,” Gronkowski said. “Well then the New England Patriots got a sniff of it and they traded up one spot before the Baltimore Ravens at number 42, where I got drafted.”
Rob Gronkowski reveals that the #Ravens were going to pick him before Bill Belichick and the #Patriots traded up one slot ahead of them.
There’s also the matter of Josh McDaniels and Tim Tebow.
(via @DudesOnDudesPod) pic.twitter.com/B77XufkDJd
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) May 7, 2025
Gronkowski went on to have a Hall of Fame career with Tom Brady throwing him the ball in New England and then with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Meanwhile, the Ravens selected defensive end Sergio Kindle with the No. 43 overall pick. Kindle barely saw the field for Baltimore and was released during his third season in the NFL. The Ravens would leave the 2010 draft with a pair of good tight ends, though, in Pitta and Ed Dickson. Pitta played a crucial role during Baltimore’s 2012 Super Bowl run, although his career was sadly cut short due to multiple hip injuries. There is no telling how different things could have been for quarterback Joe Flacco if he had Gronkowski to throw to for his entire career with the Ravens.