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.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS: Quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers

NEXT: Kickers

START 'EM

-- 49ers: TE Vernon Davis, K Jeff Reed.

-- Chargers: QB Philip Rivers, WR Vincent Jackson, WR Malcom Floyd, K Nate Kaeding, defense and special teams.

Quick slants: Davis has 744 yards and six touchdowns on the season, and he has nine catches for 196 yards and two scores in his last two games. ... In two games with San Francisco, Reed has scored 26 points and is perfect on seven field-goal attempts. ... Rivers has endured his only "slump" of the season, throwing for a combined 691 yards, three TDs and two interceptions in his last three games. With 3,868 yards and 26 TDs on the season, you have to play him every week. ... Jackson made it through an entire game last week, but had only two catches for 29 yards and one rush for 14 yards. Just a hunch: With Floyd banged up, this will be Jackson's breakout game. ... Floyd is a difficult call, since he missed practice Wednesday with a hamstring injury, but he's expected to play and he had four catches and two TDs last week. The Chargers' receiving corps is banged up, so they need him tonight. ... Kaeding is averaging 7.6 points per game. ... San Diego's defense is ranked first overall (265 yards per game), first against the pass (173) and fourth vs. the run (91.6).

SIT 'EM

49ers: QB Alex Smith, RB Brian Westbrook, RB Anthony Dixon, WR Michael Crabtree, WR Josh Morgan, defense and special teams.

Chargers: RB Mike Tolbert, RB Ryan Mathews, WR Patrick Crayton, TE Antonio Gates, TE Randy McMichael.

Quick slants: Smith threw for 255 yards and three TDs last week, his first game since Week 7, but I wouldn't play him against a defense that has one more interception (13) than TD passes allowed (12). ... Westbrook is a tempting play in point-per-reception leagues after he caught six passes for 87 yards and a TD last week against Seattle. In standard formats, however, I wouldn't start him because he's had only 18 carries for 54 yards in the two games in which Frank Gore has missed. ... Crabtree had one catch for 1 yard last week, and he hasn't had more than 48 yards in a game since Week 10. ... The 49ers' defense ranks 11th overall (327.4 yards per game), but is 20th against the pass (227). ... Tolbert has 10 TDs on the ground, but he split 32 carries with Mathews last week, and the rookie is San Diego's featured back when healthy (which hasn't been often). ... Mathews had 16 carries for 65 yards and a TD last week, his first appearance since Week 9, but Tolbert gets the majority of the goal-line work. ... Crayton is out with a wrist injury. ... Gates is doubtful with foot and ankle injuries. ... With Gates out last week, his replacement, McMichaels, had only two catches for 26 yards.