'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAIAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEI/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQL/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAM6Ua//EACAQAAECBgMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEDBAACERIiMQUUIVH/2gAIAQEAAT8A4tFr1VQqW0ytxtM5NTidfN192RAUbUGIj//EABURAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB/9oACAECAQE/AI//xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABEQD/2gAIAQMBAT8AWgTf/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski grew to define an era in the NFL, totally reinventing the way quarterbacks and tight ends play together. But are there any other duos who can rival them?
Playing together and winning Super Bowl championships in both New England and Tampa Bay, the Brady/Gronkowski axis is arguably the most effective the NFL has known.
Bill Belichick saw the potential. The veteran coach then put the pair together. What came next was all natural. The two players bonded off the field and thus formed a telepathic connection on it.
Brady’s ability to hang-up throws in dangerous areas was perfectly blended with Gronk’s superhuman physicality.
For years in Foxboro, if a pass was thrown near the corner of the end zone, and it had loft… Gronk would come down with the ball no matter how many defenders covered him.
Such partnerships do occur in football but rarely to the level Brady and his tight end managed. History will remember them as arguably the greatest one-two punch in football, but is this a widespread view?
Let's look at five duos from the NFL who can be considered rivals to the Brady-Gronkowski pair as far as the greatest partnerships in football go.
#5 Michael Irvin and Troy Aikman – Dallas Cowboys
Whilst it may be difficult for younger fans to remember or believe, the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s were a most formidable team in the NFL.
One of the main reasons behind their success, aside from the relaxed salary cap rules of the time, was the incredible partnership between Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin.
The quarterback and wide receiver connected incredibly well and helped the Cowboys’ offense become simply electric.
Both players are now individually enshrined in the NFL’s Hall of Fame, but their work on the field was best done together. Throughout their time on the same team in Dallas, Irvin and Aikman combined for 49 touchdowns.
Whilst their statistics together might not read as well as those put up by Brady and Gronkowski, their impact on the game was comparable.
In crucial moments, Aikman was phenomenally accurate and he could always rely on Irvin to make the catch.
The Cowboys played off this reliable connection and drew up slant route plays that defenses just couldn’t stop. The duo won three Super Bowls together and brought the best out of each other.
#4 Leonard Marshall and Lawrence Taylor – New York Giants
Whilst Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are an offensive duo, one of the most dominant partnerships ever came on the opposite side of the ball.
Leonard Marshall and Lawrence Taylor were two of the most physically dominant pass rushers the sport has ever seen. Put them on the same team with a young Bill Belichick as defensive coordinator, and you have something special.
That is exactly what happened for the New York Giants, who were able to use Marshall and Taylor as a defensive one-two punch for 10 seasons.
The pair was simply ridiculous coming off the blind side. Marshall recorded 79.5 sacks as a Giant, whilst Taylor had 119 sacks in his years paired with Lenny.
The Giants won two Super Bowls with the defensive duo dominating, with victories coming in the 1986 and 1990 seasons respectively.
What is interesting about this duo is that you could easily claim them to be the greatest ever defensive pairing, with Taylor seen as the greatest defender in NFL history.
With TB12 seen as the greatest offensive player ever, the comparisons are clear despite their differing roles.
#3 Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce – Kansas City Chiefs
It’s difficult to judge a duo that is still active and playing together. However, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are very much the millennial version of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
Mahomes has all the attributes of a modern quarterback. He is incredibly mobile with the ball in his hands and is able to keep plays alive.
Kelce is much more like Gronk. He utilizes his physicality to bully defenders and make catches he isn’t the favorite to make.
When the Chiefs are in trouble, especially when their offensive line is struggling, Mahomes makes a play happen and Kelce ensures that it ends up in a completion.
The pair have combined for 46 touchdowns, which is the fourth-most in league history between a quarterback and tight end.
These stats are only going to improve. Mahomes and Kelce have a telepathic connection and as long as Andy Reid’s offense needs them, they will connect.
It’s easy to see the duo finishing just behind Brady and Gronkowski in terms of combined touchdowns by the time they split up.
#2 Steve Young and Jerry Rice – San Francisco 49ers
You would be forgiven for not accepting the Joe Montana/Jerry Rice partnership on this list. However, Steve Young and Jerry Rice enjoyed greater success together.
Whilst Montana is the poster boy for the San Francisco 49ers’ greatest period, Jerry Rice was the heart and soul behind it.
He was an exceptional professional, determined to do whatever it took to win. He didn’t seek out individual records, but his performances found them anyway.
If Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are considered to be one of the greatest duos, Young and Rice can’t be too far behind.
Whilst Rice caught 67 touchdown passes from Joe Cool, he would obliterate that record by catching 92 touchdown passes from Steve Young.
For a time, it was an NFL record, and it was testament to the connection the duo had on the field.
They did it on the grandest stage of them all. In one Super Bowl triumph, Young threw six touchdown passes and Rice was on the receiving end of three of them.
#1 Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison – Indianapolis Colts
The only duo to score more touchdowns than Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison.
If Gronk hadn’t retired, then it is certain that they would have surpassed the landmark set by the Indianapolis Colts duo.
However, if there is one knock against Manning and Harrison as a unit, it is that they couldn’t propel the Colts to collective success on the same scale as Tom Terrific and Gronk.
They managed to win just one solitary Super Bowl with the Colts, often falling short to the Patriots in key AFC battles.
Individual accolades are all well and good, but if it doesn’t help your team win, then is it worth anything at all?
Conversely, you can’t be too critical of a pairing who had to ensure they outmatched Tom Brady every year. They may well have the most combined touchdowns, but they had the GOAT as an annual adversary.
Manning and Harrison combined for 112 touchdowns and 12,766 yards. In the years they spent together, Manning threw 953 completed passes to Harrison.
From a statistical standpoint, they produced more offensively than Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, but they will never be remembered in the same breath.
It’s unfortunate, but their legacy is pretty much confined to the Indianapolis Colts fanbase. Neutrals won’t often recall how great they were together simply because for that generation, Brady and Gronkowski were the reference point.
That is unlikely to ever change, but from a purely statistical standpoint, Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison match Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski… perhaps even bettering them.
