Rob Gronkowski, Tom Brady's Updated Fantasy Outlook for Week 1 vs. Dolphins

Rob Gronkowski is a go for the New England Patriots' Week 1 clash against the Miami Dolphins, which creates a realm of possibilities for fantasy football owners—and Tom Brady.     

Those owners who took the huge gamble on the 25-year-old tight with an average draft position of 3.06 surely cracked a smile upon Gronkowski's announcement Monday, as captured by Phil Perry of CSNNE.com:

After all, Brady's favorite target has scored 42 touchdowns in 50 games and easily blows away the rest of his position in terms of fantasy scoring, including New Orleans' Jimmy Graham, whom he has outscored with relative ease since 2011 when healthy.

But this is Gronkowski, who has missed 14 games over the course of the past two seasons, and his rapid recovery after surgery on a torn ACL back in January suggests he is a major risk based on usage. It's a notion he confirmed, via Doug Kyed of NESN.com:

Really, though, he remains a must-start in all leagues regardless. Even if he sees reduced snaps, one can surely bet the house on those coming in the red zone, meaning an increase in his already impressive touchdown-game ratio is a likelihood.

It helps that Brady is under center, yes, but further helping his cause to be in lineups is the fact the opponent is Miami—a defense that gave up the fifth-most points to tight ends a year ago. That ranking comes despite the fact they hardly had to deal with Gronkowski himself.

Now, last year's numbers can be a bit of a flimsy thing to rely on, but the Dolphins have done little to upgrade. Pass-rusher Dion Jordan is suspended, as is star safety Reshad Jones. Heck, it's a unit that has been marred with tackling issues for most of the preseason.

The point is, owners can feel safe with Gronkowski. Even on a reduced pitch count he is a much better option than most at one of fantasy's most volatile positions. Bleacher Report's Ty Schalter explains that those around him will open up scoring opportunities for Gronkowski as well:

"He matches up very well against the defenses of the AFC East, and the return of receivers Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman should keep opposing coordinators from stacking coverage against him."

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Obviously, this gives a boost to Brady's Week 1 stock, too. He had taken a hit in the mind of owners this offseason, as noted with his ADP of 5.04. Much of this had to do with Gronkowski's unclear status, but that hesitation on the parts of owners should now go out the window.

Brady is a lock to score a wealth of points this week, even if Gronkowski himself is only a high-profile decoy outside of the red zone. Even then, owners who take the dive can do so with a semblance of comfort, whereas before this announcement Brady came with some built-in risk due to no viable option at tight end and Amendola being an even bigger injury risk than Gronkowski himself.

Is there a chance this blows up in the face of owners? Sure, but a game of calculated risks comes down to who can take the chances least likely to fail. Betting against the pair of Gronkowski and Brady is simply foolish, and as long as the league's best tight end will see snaps, both must be in lineups without hesitation.

All average draft positions courtesy of FantasyFootballCalculator.com. All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.