Rob Gronkowski’s prowess for finding the end zone and his huge touchdown spikes have earned him the reputation as the sport’s best tight end.

But his blocking is what endears him to Bill Belichick. In fact, the Patriots coach said he puts Gronkowski up there with former Giants star Mark Bavaro as the best blocking tight end he’s ever coached.

“He doesn’t really come across in that role,” Belichick said, according to ESPN. “He’s a great guy to have on the team; forget about the talent and all that. Just the way he goes about his job, the way he works and trains in the weight room, his physical conditioning. His mental concentration and focus to be well and do well and improve are very, very good.

“He takes pride in a good block just like he takes pride in a good catch or takes pride in breaking a tackle or, for that matter, recovering an onside kick. He’s been in a lot of different roles for us, but I can honestly say I’ve never seen him do anything but try his very best at those roles, whatever those happen to be. He’s not a one-dimensional player, and he sees football as a total team game, and he works hard at every aspect of it.”

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady raved about Gronkowski’s leadership and his determination to play despite nagging injuries. Like Belichick, Brady said Gronkowski’s blocking goes unnoticed because of how skilled of a receiver he is — he has caught 19 touchdown passes from Brady since the start of last season.

“Obviously he gets a lot of attention for catching touchdown passes, but he does all the dirty work, too,” Brady said. “He’s in there blocking for those backs and in pass protection and takes a lot of pride in all those things. He’s been out there every day this year practicing as hard as he can, and I think it’s just showing a huge commitment by him to all of us players of what it means to him. I think he’s been a great example for all of us.”