Houston Texans: Three Patriots that will give the Texans a hard time

Rob Gronkowski, TE

This one may seem as obvious as Tom Brady but, it bears breaking down. Rob Gronkowski is one of the best, no, the best tight end to ever play the game. He may not end up having the best stats by a tight end when it’s all said and done but, he is the best to ever do it.

Gronk is a matchup nightmare. He is bigger than nearly every safety in the league. He is faster and quicker than nearly every linebacker in the league. His size also allows him to more than hold his own as an in-line, blocking tight end.

The Texans have guys on the defense that might be able to match up against him but, not very many people have been able to stop Gronk completely. Tyrann Mathieu is solid in coverage but Gronk is significantly taller than him. Justin Reid has a decent shot but, this is a difficult first assignment.

The Texans best bet against Gronk may be Zach Cunningham. He has the size and speed to match up against Gronk. However, it will still be a tough task for Cunningham and having him tailing Gronk all game long doesn’t seem like the best strategy.

Romeo Crennel will have to get creative in order to stop Gronk. Hopefully, a combination of the guys mentioned above, or someone else entirely will be able to at least slow down Gronk. If they can, this offense will be much less potent.