Martellus Bennett's Fantasy Outlook After Rob Gronkowski's Injury

The Madden curse has made its way to New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who will miss the team's season opener against the Arizona Cardinals due to a hamstring injury. 

Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal first reported Gronkowski likely would not be traveling with the team to Arizona. Comcast SportsNet New England's Tom E. Curran and ESPN's Adam Schefter later confirmed the All-Pro tight end did not make the trip. And the Patriots officially declared Gronkowski out for the game.

As one of the most unguardable receiving targets in the NFL today, Gronkowski has become a top target on fantasy football teams given his ability to rack up yards and be quarterback Tom Brady's favorite target in the red zone. 

It's made him a top-10 pick in ESPN fantasy drafts this season as his acquisition is just like picking up a WR1. 

But with him going down for at least one game, Martellus Bennett becomes the man responsible to fill the void left by Gronkowski.

Bennett was acquired by the Patriots during the offseason where he was expected to play a lesser role, which he told ESPN's First Take didn't bother him (h/t MassLive.com's Kevin Duffy, via Zack Cox of NESN.com):

"

I saw Brandon (Marshall) and Alshon (Jeffrey) working together a lot (in Chicago), how they pushed each other to become better. I saw (Terrell Owens) with Miles Austin early in his career (in Dallas). For me, I just kind of take that same approach with Rob — two guys, two bros pushing each other to get better. I’m super excited about it because it takes a little pressure off me, too. I don’t mind being Robin.

"

Bennett has shown flashes of being a top fantasy wide receiver. In 2014 with the Chicago Bears, he put up 916 yards and six touchdowns for a total of 131.6 points, ranked fifth among all tight ends while catching passes from Jay Cutler, the 14th-rated fantasy quarterback that season. 

Unfortunately, Bennett is not walking into an offense that has Brady under center because the star quarterback is suspended for the season's first four games. Jimmy Garoppolo is making his first career start against a Cardinals defense that finished seventh in points allowed and eighth in passing yards allowed last season. 

If your fantasy lineup is barren at tight end with Gronkowski out, Bennett is worth starting. But don't expect him to do much against one of the NFL's best defenses with an unproven quarterback leading the offense. 

Fantasy and NFL stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.