giving his all," Stallworth said. "Every play, every game, he gives his all."

That certainly shows up in the box score. Had Gronkowski managed to stay healthy for all of 2013, he would have blown up the stat sheet. If for all 16 games he'd produced at the same pace he did in his six starts*, he'd have finished the season with 99 catches, 1,507 yards and 11 touchdowns.

*This disregards the Week 8 game against Miami, when he did not start and caught only two passes for 27 yards.

Per Pro-Football-Reference.com, that would have ranked him sixth in the NFL in receptions, second in receiving yards and tied for eighth in receiving touchdowns—not among tight ends, but among all NFL pass-catchers.

The Tao of Gronk

In the 2012 and 2013 offseasons, Gronkowski'sand his completion percentage at its lowest since 2006.

It's that precipitous drop in production that caused PFF's Sam Monson, writing for ESPN Insider (subscription required), to conclude Brady is no longer a top-five NFL quarterback. Without Gronk, Brady and the Patriots didn't look nearly as unstoppable as in previous years, despite going 12-4 and making it to last year's AFC Championship Game.

Can Gronkowski's return put Brady back into top form and the Patriots back on top of the conference? It certainly couldn't hurt.

Uncredited/Associated Press

"With him on the field, you'll never go wrong," Stallworth told me. "I'm a big supporter of his. He's a great kid, and he works his ass off."

Assuming Gronkowski's knee stays healthy—and nothing else on his seemingly superhuman body breaks down—he should be in line