Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski had 17 receiving touchdowns last season -- more than any wide receiver, including Megatron himself, Calvin Johnson.

Gronkowski's 90 receptions trailed only four wideouts in 2011, and his 1,327 receiving yards ranked sixth in the league.

So where do you draft a tight end who will give you elite wide receiver numbers?

ESPN and Yahoo! have Gronkowski ranked 14th overall, and the CBS guys have him ranked Nos. 21, 26 and 30.

I would side with ESPN and Yahoo! on this and take Gronk early in Round 2.

Look at Larry Fitzgerald's numbers (80 receptions for 1,411 yards and eight TDs last season). Imagine getting an upgrade from Fitzgerald, and playing him at tight end.

In a 12-team league, Gronkowski is a no-brainer early in the second round -- especially in point-per-reception formats.

Aug. 16 update: We dropped Jason Witten from No. 4 to No. 7 because of concerns about his lacerated spleen.

On to the tight end rankings ...

Rank, player, team (bye week): GP, Receptions-Yards-Avg, TD

1. Rob Gronkowski, NE (9): 16, 90-1,327-14.7, 17

2. Jimmy Graham, NO (6): 16, 99-1,310-13.2, 11

3. Antonio Gates, SD (7): 13, 64-778-12.2, 7

4. Aaron Hernandez, NE (9): 14, 79-910-11.5, 7

5. Vernon Davis, SF (9): 16, 67-792-11.8, 6

6. Jermichael Finley, GB (10): 16, 55-767-13.9, 8

7. Jason Witten, Dal (5): 16, 79-942-11.9, 5

8. Tony Gonzalez, Atl (7): 16, 80-875-10.9, 7

9. Brandon Pettigrew, Det (5): 16, 83-777-9.4, 5

10. Fred Davis, Was (10): 12, 59-796-13.5, 3

11. Brent Celek, Phi (7): 16, 62-811-13.1, 5

12. Jacob Tamme, Den (11): 16, 19-177-9.3, 1

13. Jared Cook, Ten (11): 16, 49-759-15.5, 3

14. Jermaine Gresham, Cin (8): 14, 56-596-10.6, 6

15. Dustin Keller, NYJ (9): 16, 65-815-12.5, 5

16. Owen Daniels, Hou (8): 15, 54-677-12.5, 3

17. Kellen Winslow, Sea (11): 15, 75-763-10.2, 2

18. Coby Fleener, Ind (4): Rookie

19. Kyle Rudolph, Min (11): 15, 26-249-9.6, 3

20. Greg Olsen, Car (6): 16, 45-540-12.0, 5

NOTE: Statistics are from the 2011 season.

QUICK SLANTS: Once the no-doubt-about-it choice as the top tight end, Gates has been limited to 23 games the last two years. He played in all 16 games from 2006-09. … Witten has played in all but one game in his nine-year career. ...  Gonzalez has had at least 70 receptions each year since 2003, and he has had 867 yards or more in eight of the last nine years. … Pettigrew has 154 catches combined the last two seasons, but only nine TDs in that span. … In the last nine games of 2011, Celek had 42 catches for 602 yards and three TDs. … Former Colt Tamme had 67 receptions for 631 yards and four touchdowns with Peyton Manning in 2010. … Gresham has averaged 54 catches the last two seasons. ... Winslow has never had more than five TDs in a season.

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