Rob Gronkowski, Tom Brady's Instant Fantasy Reaction After Week 1

File this under the Super Duper Obvious Statement department: Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski really like playing football together. And—prepare your jaw for a proper slacking—they're pretty good at it.

Just not good enough to earn a Week 1 win in Miami.

Carving the Patriots up with their ground game, the Dolphins came back from a 20-10 halftime deficit to defeat New England, 33-20, despite Brady and Gronkowski re-connecting in fine fashion. The New England quarterback and his tight end connected on a six-yard touchdown in the second quarter that helped the Pats take their early advantage. 

Just eight months after tearing his ACL, many wondered whether Gronkowski would play—or how limited he would be if he actually put on the pads. The answer was somewhere right in the murky middle. 

While he hasn't been quite as explosive as he was pre-injury, Gronkowski remains a focal point in the offense. Brady targeted him consistently over the middle of the field and the former Pro Bowler looked in fine form when running his routes. He finished the game with four catches for 40 yards and the touchdown while being targeted 11 times. 

That's the encouraging part. 

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

The discouraging part is that Gronkowski remains very limited in the snaps he sees. According to Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com, he was on the field for only 23 of the Patriots' 47 offensive snaps in the first half. Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald followed up, noting he was on the field for only two of 20 snaps as the Dolphins erased New England's lead. 

It's promising that he managed to get consistent targets on snaps he played, but it's obvious at this point he's going to be eased back into the lineup.

None of that matters this week. Gronkowski's touchdown alone justified his presence in starting lineups; his unbelievable red-zone production is why you drafted him in the first place. If he's going to be on the field in those situations, he's an every-week start and someone who can find the end zone more often than not.

As for Brady, there's really not much to say we don't already know. The Patriots' offense looks mostly similar to the iteration we saw in 2013. A ton of underneath passes to Julian Edelman and running backs out of the backfield. A lot of hurrying to the line and trying to tire out the defense with a bunch of quick-strike plays.

All of the plaudits Brady receives when Gronkowski is in the lineup still apply. He's roughly eight thousand times more comfortable with his weapons when he knows Gronkowski is on the field; Brady might have been more excited for Gronk's touchdown than his fantasy owners. The Patriots' lack of offensive explosion when Gronkowski was off the field Sunday was no coincidence. They have no downfield threats or receivers deserving of double teams when he sits. 

You're playing Brady if you drafted him. His value is going to be contingent on how much his tight end can stay on the field. 

Gronkowski is going to be the definition of a high-variance player. There is going to be a week early in the season where he produces next to nothing because he won't be on the field enough to produce the yardage needed to be a top-tier tight end.

But this is who you drafted. Everyone came into the season knowing Gronkowski was the ultimate boom-or-bust guy. If he stays healthy for all 16 games, he'll challenge Jimmy Graham for the top-scoring tight end. If he doesn't, hopefully you drafted a solid backup or odds are you'll be watching the playoffs from home.

So far, so good. Let's just see how he feels Monday and how he progresses the rest of the season before getting overly excited.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter