When it comes to projecting performances from the Patriots offense in the upcoming season, there are numerous fun topics to explore. Drake Maye’s sophomore season, Stefon Diggs’ impact on the passing game, and TreVeyon Henderson’s explosive elements in the backfield are just a few.

But none of those exciting topics will be much of a conversation if the offensive line can’t do its job. And if there’s one area that Rob Gronkowski still has questions about with the 2025 Patriots, it’s across the offensive line.

“I like what they’re doing — big time,” Gronkowski told Kayla Burton in an interview at Boston College High School, where Gronk Fitness help provide the school with a state-of-the-art weight room. “I feel like they filled all of the gaps that they needed to fill in the offseason. I think the offensive line is going to be a little bit questionable still, but I think they’re gonna figure it out.”

Gronkowski said he believes the team will address any needs in the trade market during the season, and additionally said Maye’s development in his second year will depend heavily on how well that offensive line performs.

“I would say it starts with the offensive line,” Gronkowski said. “Whatever they do, if the offensive line isn’t performing, it’s gonna be hard for Drake Maye to perform. So if they’re not performing, I feel like they’re gonna upgrade the offensive line in whatever way they’re gonna have to do it. But if the offensive line is stable, I believe Drake Maye is gonna be able to get that football to that wide receiver group.”

An old-school type of player, Gronkowski naturally stressed the importance of the running game, too.

“You’ve gotta be able to run the football as well if you want to be a great quarterback in this league,” he said. “And that also starts with Drake Maye getting everyone organized, making the right linebacker call, the right Mike point, so the offensive line, they’re all on the same page as well and everyone’s blocking the right guy. And if you get the running game going, and you get the play-action game going, you get the pass game going as well. So they’ve gotta be able to run the football as well, I believe, if Drake Maye wants to really, really stand out.”

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Gronkowski did not make an exact prediction for the upcoming season, but he anticipates big strides being taken after last year’s 4-13 campaign.

“They’re doing everything the right way. They’re working hard, they’re coming together as a program. They got [Mike] Vrabel, who’s a no-nonsense guy but also kind of like a player’s coach. He feels like a great coach to play for. He gets you to work hard but it feels like it’s a lot of fun still over there in the Patriots organization,” Gronkowski said. “They’re on their way in the right direction. I think they’re going to improve tremendously from last year, and they’re just gonna keep making improvements as they go on in the areas that they need to, I feel like, because that’s what they’ve done so far.”

He added: “I expect a pretty good formula out there, pretty quality football out of the Patriots this year.”

As for the renovated weight room at BC High, Gronkowski was amazed to see “the best high school facility I’ve ever seen in my life,” after the school purchased weights and equipment from Gronk Fitness.

“To have my name on the weight plates here means a lot to me, it means a lot to my family, and it feels really, really good as well. Because New England gave so much to me, I love to give back to New England,” Gronkowski said. “And that’s why I’m here today, to give back to these high school kids, take pictures with them, get ’em fired up. And also the middle-school kids here as well — they were absurd, they were wild. It was one of the coolest entrances I’ve ever had in my life, about 200 middle-school kids chanting my name in the hallway, I’m just running through, high-fiving them all.

“This is a special place.”