Drake Maye, Kevin Byard Recall Rob Gronkowski Before Patriots Hall of Fame Induction

Kevin Byard spent a January 2018 playoff night at Gillette Stadium trying to cover Rob Gronkowski for the Tennessee Titans. Byard is a captain for the New England Patriots now, and Gronkowski was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Several current Patriots players and coaches talked about Gronkowski this week ahead of the ceremony at Patriot Place Plaza, where he became the 38th member of the franchise’s Hall of Fame.

Byard was a second-year safety in that AFC divisional round game on Jan. 13, 2018. He told Patriots On SI’s Ethan Hurwitz that Tom Brady kept targeting the matchup.

“I remember every time Tom Brady saw me lined up against him, he threw the ball at him,” Byard said. “I want to say he probably completed every single pass, even a touchdown. He’s just a big dude, he’s hard to cover.”

Gronkowski finished with six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. New England won 35-14.

What stuck with Byard came after the catch.

“He would literally just make a play, try to stiff arm you into the dirt and then he’ll get back up and run back to the huddle,” Byard explained. “He just went about his business.”

Drake Maye grew up in North Carolina as a Gronkowski fan and had him on his fantasy football teams. Gronkowski’s film still comes up in the Patriots’ quarterback room.

“I had a Gronk T-shirt jersey growing up, I remember I was a big T-shirt jersey guy in the NFL, wore it to school,” Maye said. “So, I’m a big fan of his game. You see a lot of his film come up in the quarterback room of his ability to break tackles, make catches.”

“That’s a special player that I’ve gotten to know with a special personality,” Maye continued. “Another appreciation for, if not the best, one of the best to ever play.”

Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has shown Gronkowski clips in film meetings this season. Two of them are the one-handed catch against the Denver Broncos in 2014 and another against the Buffalo Bills three years later.

McDaniels coached Gronkowski from 2012 through 2018, his second stint running New England’s offense. He is in his third stint now.

“He was a great teammate,” McDaniels said. “He was unbelievable to coach, he took coaching very well. He was very smart. He was prepared and Rob always seemed to play his best in the biggest games. There’s not too many people like him.”

Outside linebackers coach Mike Smith saw Gronkowski from the other sideline with the New York Jets from 2010 to 2012 and again with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018.

“You can’t put a linebacker on him because he’s gonna outrun him,” Smith said. “A safety, he’s gonna big-ball him ... and he’ll block your ass off. Clearly one of the best tight ends that’s ever played this game and I love his personality.”

Smith groaned when he recalled the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 20, 2019. Gronkowski caught six passes for 79 yards that night, several of them for late first downs. New England won in overtime and won Super Bowl LIII over the Rams two weeks later, the last game of Gronkowski’s Patriots career.

“They’re not gonna waste Gronk like that,” Smith explained. “He chipped both edges the entire game and did not even give them an opportunity to direct that game.”

Head coach Mike Vrabel never shared a roster with Gronkowski. He coached against him with the Houston Texans and Titans, and he talked about him in an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Scott Zolak this week.

“Because he was not only able to adjust and make plays on the football, great body control, great hands, strong football, great after the catch, it was really tough to tackle,” Vrabel said. “But he took pride in blocking. Blocking. You know what I mean? Blocked. He blocked defensive ends in this league, and that’s just not something that you see every day now.”

“He gave his body to this team and to the game,” Vrabel continued.

Vrabel entered the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2023. Brady followed him in 2024, then Julian Edelman in 2025. Saturday made it four straight years that a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots has gone in.

Maye was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for October. New England is 5-3 and hosts the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET, with Gronkowski set to be recognized at halftime. Roundtable’s look at the Patriots’ offense against Green Bay’s defense breaks down the matchup.

The Patriots face the Detroit Lions in Germany on Nov. 15.