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Hall of Fame start?

12/05/2011

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has already had a season of historic proportions in 2011. His five-catch, 64-yard, two-TD performance against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday tied him with Antonio Gates (2004) and Vernon Davis (2009) for the most TD receptions by a tight end in a single season in NFL history. Gronkowski also added a rushing touchdown to help the Patriots defeat the Colts 31-24. No tight end has had at least two receiving touchdowns and a rushing TD in the same game since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

Although Gronkowski is only in his second season out of the University of Arizona, he has had quite a career to this point. His season performance has him on pace to pull in 87 receptions for 1,237 yards and 17 TDs. He already holds the all-time mark for most TDs over the first two seasons by a tight end.

Two seasons, however, does not make a Pro Football Hall of Fame career. But, here's a look into how Gronkowski's first two NFL seasons compared to the first two years of the eight tight ends enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Rob Gronkowski
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Avg.	TDs
2010	New England Patriots	16	42	546	13.0	10
2011	New England Patriots	12	65	928	14.3	13
Total		28	107	1474	13.8	23

Dave Capser
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Avg.	TDs
1974	Oakland Raiders	14	4	26	6.5	3
1975	Oakland Raiders	14	5	71	14.2	1
Total		28	9	97	10.8	4

Mike Ditka
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Avg.	TDs
1961	Chicago Bears	14	56	1076	19.2	12
1962	Chicago Bears	14	58	904	15.6	5
Total		28	114	1980	17.4	17

John Mackey
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Avg.	TDs
1963	Baltimore Colts	14	35	726	20.7	7
1964	Baltimore Colts	14	22	406	18.5	2
Total		28	57	1132	19.9	9

Ozzie Newsome
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Avg.	TDs
1978	Cleveland Browns	16	38	589	15.5	2
1979	Cleveland Browns	16	55	781	14.2	9
Total		32	93	1370	14.7	11

Charlie Sanders
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Avg.	TDs
1968	Detroit Lions	14	40	533	13.3	1
1969	Detroit Lions	14	42	656	15.6	3
Total		28	82	1189	14.5	4

Shannon Sharpe
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Avg.	TDs
1990	Denver Broncos	16	7	99	14.1	1
1991	Denver Broncos	16	22	322	14.6	1
Total		32	29	421	14.5	2

Jackie Smith
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Avg.	TDs
1963	St. Louis Cardinals	14	28	445	15.9	2
1964	St. Louis Cardinals	14	47	657	14	4
Total		28	75	1102	14.7	6

Kellen Winslow
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Avg.	TDs
1979	San Diego Chargers	7	25	255	10.2	2
1980	San Diego Chargers	16	89	1290	14.5	9
Total		23	114	1545	13.6	11

New England Patriots

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