NFL Rankings: Top 10 hybrid players

8. New England Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski

Gronkowski is a man with the body of a tight end yet he has the speed and agility of most wide receivers. The Patriots can use him as a in-line blocker. They can send him on a seam route from a three-point stance. He’s effective from the slot and as a wideout. In short, there’s nothing that he can’t doing from a receiving perspective. And it’s why those who try to defend him as a tight end fail. On the other hand, defend him like a wide receiver and you’re toast, too.

He’s a physical chess match every play. Match his speed and agility, and he’ll come at you with strength and size — and vice versa.

He’s only at eight on this list because he’s a shell of his former self. It doesn’t mean that over the course of the season, he won’t sky rocket upwards. He has the potential to be the most productive hybrid player in the league. It’s just that we haven’t seen it from since his string of injuries. He and Tom Brady have been out of sorts.