The New England Patriots begin their season on Thursday night against the Kansas City Chiefs in Foxborough, when they will unveil their new 11-banner setup and kick off their Super Bowl title defense. Julian Edelman will not be on the field for the Pats after suffering a torn ACL during the preseason that will sideline him for the season.

And tight end Rob Gronkowski, who appeared on the CBS Sports Pick Six Podcast with myself and Nick Kostos recently, said he believes that Edelman is "not a replaceable player" for the Pats.

We wanted to know how the Pats will step up in Edelman's absence and Gronk says there just isn't a way to replicate what Edelman does for New England.

"Julian's not a replaceable player. The way he works, the way he plays the game is second to none," Gronkowski said. "The only thing is players like myself and the offense we have to step up and take on bigger roles. We have to work hard and move forward, but we're going to miss him on the field."

Gronk might not be wrong. The Patriots offense hasn't been as good on the field without Edelman over the last few years.

The Patriots loaded up on other weapons this offseason, trading for Brandin Cooks before the draft and then acquiring Philip Dorsett for Jacoby Brissett last weekend (the latter move shouldn't be a huge impact play). Chris Hogan emerged in the AFC Championship Game as a viable weapon and Danny Amendola can pick up the slot duties. Their running back group of James White, Dion Lewis, Mike Gilleslee and Rex Burkhead is loaded and ideal for the way this offense operates. Gronk is pretty good too! 

But you can't recreate the chemistry that Brady and Edelman have. Or perhaps you prefer "mind meld." (I do.)

That's essentially what Gronk is saying too. Edelman is a talented physical player -- he was a quarterback at Kent State and transformed into a Pro Bowl wide receiver and NFL champion. In somewhat ironic fashion, he once made Wes Welker -- also thought to be irreplaceable -- as expendable as Wally Pipp.

We'll see on Thursday night. The Pats could come out and look indestructible again. It would hardly be surprising to see them overcome a major injury and win big; they won Super Bowl LI with Gronk sidelined for much of the season. 

Gronk also touched on how he's enjoying Tom Brady's diet, who is more handsome between Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo, his health heading into the 2017 and much more. You can listen to the full interview below and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here (rate/review if you like it!). 

Gronk, who was appearing on behalf of Tide's "Spike the Stink" program, recently got to dress up in pigtails and act like a kid again, which is totally different from what he normally does.

Well maybe the pigtails part.