It wasn't exactly a great offseason for the New England Patriots.

The defending Super Bowl champions lost their best defensive tackle and defensive captain Vince Wilfork to the Houston Texans. Wilfork may no longer be in his prime, but he is one of the best at stopping the run at the line of scrimmage.

On top of losing their best defensive lineman, the Patriots will also be without Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. Revis and Browner made up a great secondary combination last season with speed and physicality. With the Patriots defense hurting, and quarterback Tom Brady's future in question with "Deflategate," Rob Gronkowski will have to play better than ever before.

Gronkowski is arguably the best tight end in the NFL today because of his amazing play making abilities. But, can he win the MVP this upcoming season?

The odds are heavily stacked against Gronkowski. Never before in the history of the league has a tight end ever won the MVP award. The MVP award has been dominated by quarterbacks and running backs, who have won a combined 55 of the 58 MVP honors. The only non-quarterback and non-running backs to win the NFL MVP have been Alan Page in 1971 with the Minnesota Vikings, Mark Moseley in 1982 with the Washington Redskins, and Lawrence Taylor in 1986 with the New York Giants.

Even the great Jerry Rice never even won the MVP.

It's such a tough accomplishment for a tight end or wide receiver to win the award because his quarterback will always get so much more attention and credit. However, this year could set up really good for Gronkowski. With Brady suspended four games, Gronkowski will be catching passes from backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who has never started a single NFL game in his young career.

The Patriots first four games will be against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys.

If Gronkowski can put together (like he's fully capable of doing) four very good games without Brady on the field, and help the Patriots win as many as three games in that stretch, he could very well put his name in the MVP race. Peyton Manning, who has won a record five NFL MVP awards, is returning this year from a torn quad injury. Andrew Luck is the frontrunner to win the award this season, however he plays in a very weak division, the AFC South.

The biggest concern with Gronkowski is always health. He hasn't played a full season since 2011 because of key injuries suffered. Regardless, Gronkowski has recorded 54 receiving touchdowns in the 54 regular season games he has started. Gronkowski is a monster of a target to throw to, as long as he is on the field. Last season Gronkowski led the Patriots with 1,124 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Proving he can succeed without Brady for a quarter of the season would boost his early season MVP stock.

Brady is the only Patriot to ever win the MVP award in franchise history.

This upcoming Patriots season will be very unfamiliar to any Patriots season in recent memory. Gronkowski will have to be by far the best tight end in the league to make up for so many losses. Although it should be mentioned the last time the Patriots started a season without Brady, they won the Super Bowl.

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