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Bennett on playing with Gronk: 'I really don't mind being Robin' Bennett on playing with Gronk: 'I really don't mind being Robin' By Phil Perry June 15, 2016 11:17 AM Martellus Bennett has been one of the most productive tight ends in football over the course of the last four seasons -- three with the Bears and one as a member of the Giants -- but he knows that in New England he'll be running routes alongside a unanimous All-Pro at the same position. Being the No. 2 at that spot behind Rob Gronkowski is no problem for Bennett, however. He visited ESPN's First Take on Wednesday to promote his new children's book and app "Hey AJ It's Saturday," and he explained that he's embracing the opportunity to play next to the game's top tight end. "I'm super excited about it because it takes a little pressure off of me too," Bennett said. "I really don't mind being Robin, you know? So right now it's just working every day and just trying to get better. He's an excellent player, and I'm gonna be able to get a lot of single coverages with him." Bennett was one of the newcomers to New England who turned heads during the team's OTA and minicamp practices that were open to reporters. His size -- 6-foot-6, 275 pounds -- stood out, and he consistently made athletic plays on the football while working with quarterbacks Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo. Monday's OTA session was the first time the media saw Bennett and Gronkowski work on the field as a pair, but Bennett says they've been getting to know each other ever since they worked out together at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Performance Center in Los Angeles earlier this offseason. Bennett believes that he and Gronkowski can function as an ensemble just as some other successful duos -- duos that Bennett has seen up close -- have in the past. "Rob is awesome. I love being with him in the meeting rooms and talking to him about football," Bennett said. "We've been coaching each other up, teaching each other. I saw Brandon [Marshall] and Alshon [Jeffery] work together a lot, like how they pushed each other to become better. I saw [Terrell Owens] with Miles Austin early on in his career. So for me I kind of take that saw approach with Rob. It's just like two guys, two bros, just trying to push each other to get better." The Patriots coaching staff has also pushed Bennett in ways he may not have been expecting. While his specific jobs within the offense are still relatively undefined, he says that he's been pleased with the way that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and tight ends coach Brian Daboll have tried to deploy him. The team has moved Gronkowski around in different formations and used him as an in-line tight end, a slot receiver, a wide receiver and even as a fullback at times. Might the same sort of movement be in store for Bennett? "I don't really know what my role is in the offense just yet because there's a lot of things that they're finding out that I can do that people haven't let me do in the past which has been very, very exciting," Bennett said. "They let me . . . They're expanding, and they're just saying, 'Let's see if you can do it. Can he do this? Can he do that?' It's like finally getting the leashes off and letting me go." Tags: Bill Belichick , Martellus Bennett , New England Patriots , Rob Gronkowski Curran: Expect Patriots to handle injuries different this year Curran: Expect Patriots to handle injuries different this year By Tom E. Curran June 13, 2016 7:54 PM Tom E. Curran explains why he thinks the New England Patriots will learn from their mistakes and will handle injuries differently this year. Tags: Bill Belichick , New England Patriots , Rob Gronkowski McCourty continues to embrace leadership role during spring practices McCourty continues to embrace leadership role during spring practices By Phil Perry June 13, 2016 10:11 AM FOXBORO -- While the Patriots practice in shorts and t-shirts, it's hard to gauge just how well anyone is playing. The game has been stripped of one of its most fundamental ingredients -- contact -- and rendered into something much different. Minicamp and OTA workouts are, however, an opportunity to observe how players interact in an on-the-field setting, and during one practice last week, safety Devin McCourty showed that the elements of his game that have made him a respected leader in the Patriots locker room have not been shelved with his shoulder pads. On Wednesday afternoon, McCourty met with the rest of the Patriots safeties and positional coach Steve Belichick in one corner of the Gillette Stadium practice fields for a period that stretched almost 10 minutes. As the rest of the team buzzed around them -- hitting sleds, running routes, catching passes -- they simply held a discussion. Not a single safety approached a speed that would be considered anything close to a jog. No footballs were thrown. Instead, there was talking. Some pointing. Little else. While Belichick clearly ran the session, McCourty and fellow veteran safety Patrick Chung chimed in with contributions of their own. A new element of the defense had been installed earlier that day, and McCourty helped set the tone for the position group to take a classroom mentality outdoors. The goal was for everyone to be on the same page with the new material they had been given. "It's just an interesting position group because we're kind of responsible for everything that happens in front of us, pre-snap, post-snap," McCourty said. "Steve talking Xs and Os, then myself, Chung, who've played a lot, try to give different things that happen within the game, within practice. We try to warn them of things that might not be on paper but someone might mess up that you have to be ready to correct." It's not all that unusual for the safety group to engage in that type of Socratic dialogue. Intelligent football players litter their meetings with McCourty, a five-time defensive captain, leading the way. Chung, like McCourty, has spent six years in the team's system. Duron Harmon, who missed last week's practices, has been touted as a player with a strong football IQ since his arrival to the club from Rutgers in 2013. Second-year safety Jordan Richards was drafted in the second round out of Stanford -- earlier than many expected -- due in part to his ability to process information. As they work together, they continuously push each other to break things down more quickly. Like the brains behind a Silicon Valley startup, each is working to code faster than the next. "Football is competing, whether it's a veteran minicamp or an OTA or whether we're in the meeting room," Richards said. "We're always competing, whether it's the intellectual side of the game or the actual physical side of the game. We gotta adhere to both of them." No one has done that better than McCourty, a sure tackler and traffic cop in the back end of the the defense since converting from corner to safety in 2012. He has played more snaps than any other defender under Bill Belichick since his rookie year in 2010. Whether on game days or in practices, the Patriots have come to know what to expect from McCourty on a consistent basis. "Devin's Steady Eddie," said fellow Patriots captain Matthew Slater. "You know what you're going to get from Devin everyday. From the day he walked in here, he's been dependable, he's been responsible, and he's just worked his butt off. I think there's no finer example of a Patriot on our football team than Devin McCourty and we're lucky to have him." Though Steve Belichick -- a first-year positional coach -- is very close in age to some of the players that he now instructs, McCourty says he hasn't ramped up his vocal contributions as Belichick transitions to a new role. The approach is the same as it was under former safeties coach Brian Flores, the same as it has been ever since McCourty has felt as though he's known enough to help those around him. "Steve knows what he's doing," McCourty said. "He's been here for a while. I mean, he's been around this organization longer than most of the players. He knows a lot of things. I'm just there to help out with the different things that comes with experience and being out there playing. I've been doing that over the last couple years, helping the younger guys that come in, and just try to warn them of the things that happen." Sometimes that help extends beyond the safeties group, beyond Xs and Os. Toward the end of last Wednesday's practice, a fight broke out between center Bryan Stork and undrafted rookie defensive lineman Woodrow Hamilton. After the players were separated, Hamilton walked away from the fray to blow off steam, and McCourty was the first player to reach him, wrapping his arm around the big rookie's shoulders. When that moment was mentioned to McCourty, he shrugged it off, not wanting to call attention to one of the week's more forgettable moments. But it was another example of McCourty embracing a role that he's seen manned so capably by others over the course of his Patriots career. "Just [being] an older guy, I think," McCourty said. "I was lucky enough to have a locker next to Kevin Faulk, another older guy, Leigh Bodden was in my position group. They talked to me all the time about things that had nothing to do with football, about football. So I just try to pass that along to all the younger guys in every capacity that we have here and the different challenges that you have being in the NFL." At this time of year, good football may be hard to judge. ("I don't even know what looking good in June means," McCourty said with a laugh last week.) But there's more to these practices than that. Tags: Bill Belichick , CSNNE Newswire , Devin McCourty , New England Patriots , Patrick Chung Load more Bennett on playing with Gronk: 'I really don't mind being Robin' Curran: Expect Patriots to handle injuries different this year McCourty continues to embrace leadership role during spring practices Report: NFL prohibits Patriots from using numberless jerseys in practice Gronkowski: 'On same page' with Patriots, will be ready for training camp Five things we learned at Patriots minicamp Belichick: Good for Patriots scouts to take in minicamp practices Takeaways from Day 3 of minicamp: Belichick focused on details Stork, Hamilton ejected when tempers flare at Patriots mini-camp Belichick hosts Navy coaching staff at minicamp practice Malcolm Butler present for Patriots mandatory minicamp Slater following Ebner's Olympic journey closely: 'How awesome is that?' Patriots' Brown: Family life helps you 'hone in' on work responsibilities Patriots preseason dates and kickoff times announced Slater 'very disappointed' to hear kickoffs might be done away with Knighton: 'I've been putting in the extra work' conditioning-wise Report: Butler expected to be at OTAs this week Seahawks taking their cues from Patriots on how to use Browner Malcom Brown already considered a leader for Patriots in second year Surprise! Rex and Rob Ryan talk themselves up FOLLOW US Facebook Twitter Google Plus Instagram ©2016 SportsChannel New England LLC A Division of NBC Universal Jobs Privacy Policy Term of Service Contact Us Advertise Live Extra FAQ Internships Press Releases TV Listings GET NEWSLETTERS & ALERTS SIGN UP