Rob Gronkowski Talks Tom Brady, Belichick, Super Bowl Pick and More in B/R Interview

Nobody knows Tom Brady is dominant in everything he does better than Rob Gronkowski.

And the legendary tight end doesn't expect that to stop when his former teammate is in the broadcasting booth this season.

"I think Tom is going to be excellent," Gronkowski told Bleacher Report. "There's nothing in the world he's ever done and bombed. He prepares way too well, and that's why he was the greatest quarterback of all time. He knows how to prepare. He's going to take his time like it's game day and he's playing in the game. I've seen him study, I've seen him practice and get ready for games every Sunday. I'm sure it's going to be a similar approach for him. If that's the approach he's going to take, then let me tell you, he's going to be great."

It is a new chapter for Brady, who will be in the Fox broadcast booth as part of a team with play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt and reporters Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi. As for Gronkowski, he will once again be part of Fox's NFL coverage during the upcoming season in more of a studio role.

That means the New England Patriots icons are once again on the same team after they won four Super Bowls together as arguably the top players at their respective positions to ever take the field.

"We used to sit in player meetings with him, and he can just break down the game of football and break down the defense and break down a player and their skill set in a way where it makes it easy to learn and easy to know what he's saying," Gronkowski said. "If he just brings that to the table, fans are going to love him even more."

Brady and Gronkowski aren't the only key figures from the Patriots dynasty years who will be featured in the media during the 2024 campaign.

Former head coach Bill Belichick, who already stole the show during Netflix's roast of Tom Brady this offseason, will be all over this football season as a regular on the ManningCast, a co-host for the studio show The Breakdown with Peyton and Belichick alongside Peyton Manning, and a guest with Pat McAfee on Mondays.

Throw in his appearances on Inside the NFL, Underdog Fantasy and the Let's Go! podcast, and the six-time Super Bowl champion who was not exactly known for being overly engaging during his press conferences will have the opportunity to show football audiences another side of his personality.

"Coach Belichick is absolutely dominant in his field right now," Gronkowski said. "I've seen a couple of his interviews, and he's great. His knowledge is to another level. Just like I said with Tom and his knowledge as a player is the best I've ever seen, well coach Belichick has the best knowledge I've ever been around as a coach. That's why we won championships because you have a coach with knowledge to the highest power and a player with the knowledge to the highest power.

"To see coach Belichick, I'm not surprised with how well he's doing, I'm just surprised he's doing so much. … He likes to let it loose when he's not right around the game of football, and now everybody gets to see that side. He just likes to keep it tight when he's coaching, and that sure worked."

Patriots legends will be front and center this football season even during commercial breaks, as Gronkowski, Brady and Julian Edelman teamed together in a series of ads for Tostitos that will fittingly start airing when New England takes on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1.

"As the commercials show, you can't have football without the Tostitos because Tostitos brings the experience of the gameday atmosphere to a whole new level," Gronkowski said. "If you're at a tailgate party or you're just having buddies over at the house, Tostitos chips and dips elevate it to a level that you need."

The future Hall of Famer was also appreciative of the chance to once again work together with Brady and Edelman.

"Whenever you can team up with your teammates that you played 11 years with and won three championships with, you team up with them," he said. "And that's why I want to thank Tostitos for bringing this campaign together. I knew it was a no-brainer to do it because I was going to be with the guys who I love to be with. Guys who I worked with for 11 years and who I'm always on the same page with. Guys who we can crack jokes with and rip on each other with, and then we bring each other back up as well. That's what it's all about, having that locker room type feel."

The commercials will give Patriots fans an opportunity to feel nostalgic because the immediate future isn't as bright.

New England is coming off two straight losing seasons, parted ways with Belichick this offseason and is far removed from the dynasty days. Veteran Jacoby Brissett will start the season under center, although he feels more like a temporary placeholder for rookie Drake Maye than anything else.

After all, the Patriots selected Maye with the No. 3 overall pick and will surely give him a chance to take the field at some point as the focus turns toward the future and building the next contender.

"I expect Drake Maye to play, I'm just not sure exactly when," Gronkowski said. "Maybe halfway through the season. I think it was a great play to start Jacoby Brissett, let Drake develop. Jacoby is a veteran, he knows how to handle situations that Drake wouldn't know how to handle, especially pressure coming off the edge and up the middle. The game can be fast for a rookie, and the supporting cast around Drake isn't that up to par either. It's great to let him develop and let Jacoby handle blitzes and guys when they aren't blocked on the offensive line blunders that let someone free.

"But Drake Maye has a lot of potential, he's going to be the guy in the future. I think the team will struggle a little bit this year, but I think at the same time they are on the right path. They are moving in the right direction. They have a core staple of guys that they signed in the offseason. Give them two or three years, and they could have a team in the future."

Gronkowski won't just be watching the Patriots this season, as he always has his eye on his former position.

He is arguably the greatest tight end in NFL history with a resume that features four Super Bowl titles, four First-Team All-Pro selections, five Pro Bowl nods, four seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards and five seasons with double-digit touchdowns, including when he led the league with 17 in 2011.

Someone like that is better positioned than most to evaluate the position, and he's excited to watch one of the league's high-profile rookies after the Las Vegas Raiders selected Brock Bowers with the No. 13 overall pick.

"He absolutely dominated at the University of Georgia and won a couple championships, so he knows what it takes to win," Gronkowski said. "I'll think he'll probably have some ups and downs, but once they learn to really utilize his skill set he's going to be a mismatch out there for safeties and linebackers.

"He's going to be a great player. I loved watching him in college because he was fearless when he caught the ball. He just ran and didn't care about who was tackling him. That's what fans love to see, someone who is fearless with the ball in his hands."

Bowers was a back-to-back John Mackey Award winner as the nation's most outstanding tight end and a consensus All-American in his final collegiate season, but he is facing the unfortunate reality of being in the same division as the Kansas City Chiefs.

Kansas City has won three of the last five Super Bowls and is attempting to become the first team in history to win three consecutive Lombardi Trophies. It may be even better this season with the addition of speedster Xavier Worthy with a first-round pick and Marquise Brown as a veteran option at wide receiver.

The Chiefs struggled with consistency at the wide receiver position last season, and now Patrick Mahomes will have even more options on the outside when defenses double Travis Kelce.

"I'm going with the Kansas City Chiefs," Gronkowski said when asked for a Super Bowl pick. "They're the most resilient team, they showed it over the last two years. They upgraded their team, they didn't downgrade. They bolstered their wide receiver corps. They didn't really have wide receivers last year, and they still won it all.

"Patrick Mahomes is now working with Hollywood Brown, obviously the safety valve with Travis Kelce. But then you've also got the rookie Xavier Worthy who can run and stretch the field like no other. He's got weapons now, I have to give it to them until another team shows they can compete with them for all four quarters and knock them off."

Gronkowski knows a dynasty built around a star quarterback and tight end when he sees one, which means the Chiefs could once again be a problem for the rest of the NFL.