That's how he crashed to TE14 while playing 16 games in an Aaron Rodgers offense. However, the Packers are mindful of Graham entering his age season, and while they don't have a clear replacement in mind for opening day, they did just use a third-round pick on TE Jace Sternberger.
The lack of proven talent at wide receiver behind Davante Adams hints at opportunity, but Rodgers is a notorious favorite-player when it comes to his pass catchers, and Graham does not appear part of that inner circle after last year's ugly performance.
Touchdowns are the ultimate fantasy deodorant, and Graham went heavy on the roll-on last year. Although his YPC cratered and he had the worst catch rate of his career, he finished as the TE6 in PPR and TE4 for standard scoring, leading the league in both red-zone targets 27 and targets inside the yard line Keep those spikes coming, Top Jimmy. Now Graham changes teams again heading into his age season, something that would normally terrify us.
But wait, it's the Packers, and Aaron Rodgers - so that's good, right? Just consider that the Packers signed Jared Cook in and Martellus Bennett in - a pair of transactions which yielded cumulative production of yards and one touchdown in 17 regular-season games.
Graham represents the third attempt at finding a reliable veteran tight end for Rodgers, who seemed to be annoyed with the Packers' decision to release long-time No. How confident you feel about Graham's touchdown count is probably how you'll feel about his fantasy prognosis. The Pack certainly didn't get Graham to block; he's been a traffic pylon in that area for several seasons now.
Graham looked out of place during his injury-riddled Seattle debut two seasons ago, but he made an inspiring comeback last year. He tripled his touchdown count, spiked his YPC and was back among the top four on the TE scoring board after a one-year absence. Anyone in the Seattle passing game has to accept that he's trading volume for efficiency.
Graham averaged targets during his four busiest New Orleans seasons, but he didn't even make last year, despite playing all 16 games.
Graham did rank third among tight ends in red-zone targets, though he only caught six and turned four into scores. One of the takeaways from Graham's effort -- a torn patellar tendon is no longer a death sentence. That's the injury he encountered in , but he didn't look like a compromised player at all last year.
His 4. Four Pro Bowl trips in six years is heady stuff, and Graham should have plenty in the tank entering his age season he turns 31 around Thanksgiving. But with Seattle's offensive philosophy, Graham doesn't carry the same type of upside he had in the pinball New Orleans days.
Graham's expected transformation of the Seahawks' passing game never came to fruition last season as Seattle inexplicably failed to integrate him into the offense in a meaningful way. It wasn't just a five-year-low target pace, it was how the Seahawks used him, or more accurately, failed to use him.
While the Saints kept him in tight about a third of the time, the Seahawks nearly doubled that number, making it harder to create mismatches to take advantage of his near-unstoppable combination of size , and speed 4.
Failure in the red zone, where he had but a single TD, was perhaps most perplexing. In 11 games, he had eight red-zone targets — four after Week 1 — and three targets inside the 10, none after Week 3. He didn't even move the chains much, tying for eighth among TE in first downs 29 through Week In , he had 45 in that span T-1st. Worst of all, in Week 12 he suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon in his right knee, a notoriously difficult injury to overcome.
Graham will be "eased into training camp," and it's unclear if he will be ready Week 1. It's also unclear how much speed, agility and leaping ability he lost. And there's still the question of whether he can find a productive place in a passing game, that, after a few tweaks, became a juggernaut without him late last season.
It's perhaps remarkable what Graham accomplished last year considering he played most of the year with a sprained shoulder. He finished second among tight ends in receptions and touchdowns and fifth in receiving yards. But thanks to the injury, he averaged a career-low He was routinely jammed at the line, struggled to fight through double-teams and was accused of "alligator arms" because he couldn't fully extend to catch passes.
As a result, his targets of plus yards and receptions of plus yards both fell by 10, and his long-distance scores dropped from five to one. The shoulder healed with offseason rest, but the concern this year is the blockbuster trade to the league's most run-heavy offense in Seattle.
The Seahawks likely will use him as a wide receiver at least as much, if not more, than the Saints, creating mismatches on defensive backs with his size , and on linebackers with his speed 4. And Russell Wilson will take advantage of Graham's But while double-digit touchdowns seem within reach, Graham's opportunities for yards won't be as plentiful going from the league's second-ranked offense in attempts to the 32nd.
Graham is almost a tight end in name only. So much so, in fact, he asked an arbitrator to declare him a wide receiver for franchise-tag purposes. Graham lined up in the slot on 67 percent of his snaps last season, led the league in receiving touchdowns and averaged more fantasy points per game, He was one of seven players — and the only tight end — to top receiving yards in six games, and he was the only player in the league with two receiving touchdowns in five games.
Graham is a freak athlete who thrives on mismatches. At , , he is too big for defensive backs, and his 4. That was kind of the biggest draw for me was a coach and a system that use a tight end the way I know how to be used. To be able to use matchups and to be able to use the tight end down the field, it's just very attractive. That's what I am, I'm that matchup problem. So for me to get back to that and get back to running down the field and get back to scoring touchdowns and helping the team push toward the playoffs, that's what I care about.
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Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields finds tight end Jimmy Graham through a tight window up the seam for yard completion. Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky throws a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jimmy Graham. Watch all the highlights from the week 14 matchup between the Houston Texans and the Chicago Bears.
Chicago Bears quarterback Nick Foles throws an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jimmy Graham for a touchdown. Watch the highlights from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Chicago Bears. Info Stats. Player Info. Related Content - Articles. Related Content - Videos.
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