2016 Jimmy Graham could be more, by being less
By Dan Viens
Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham is back from his severe knee injury, lighter and faster than last year.
How can a massive superstar slip through the cracks in the prime of his career? Just ask Jimmy Graham. 2015 saw him traded from a prolific, pass-first offense to one that emphasized a physical running game. He was asked to do things different in Seattle. He was asked to block.
Was it a mistake on the Seahawks part? Perhaps, but credit Graham for giving it full effort. It didn’t always look pretty but he worked on his technique and desire as a blocker, and he bulked up to prepare for the pounding, playing most of last year at close to 275 pound on his 6’7″ frame.
Expectations were massive, and when he didn’t produce the kind of eye-popping number Saints fans became accustomed to criticism followed. And then just as it looked like he was getting comfortable in the Seattle system, and it with him, he came down awkwardly on his knee against the Steelers and destroyed his patella tendon.
His season was over.
His career was in jeopardy.
With a non-guaranteed contract, his future in Seattle was in doubt.
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But here we are, 8 months after one of the most serious knee injuries a player can suffer, and Graham is back on the practice field. He’s running easily, smoothly, faster, and without a brace.
And he’s carrying 15 fewer pounds, closer to the playing weight of 260 he carried in New Orleans. It may all be by design.
The Seahawks drafted TE Nick Vannett in the 3rd round of April’s draft, and Vannett was universally regarded as the best blocking tight end in the draft…an “elite” blocker at that. And they still have Luke Willson, a solid blocker in his own right, in the tight end room as well.
What the team appears to be doing is prepping Graham for a more Saints-like role in 2016. While Vannett and Willson play in-line, Graham is freed up to move around more; sometimes in the slot, often split out wide. The matchup nightmares for opposing teams are exciting for Seahawk fans. Imagine a red zone spread formation featuring Vannett and Willson off the tackles, with Graham, Doug Baldwin and even Tyler Lockett split out wide.
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With the emergence of Baldwin and Lockett, and the way Russell Wilson likes to spread the ball around, Graham may never see the number of touches he was used to in New Orleans. But if the Seahawks can use him more as a glorified WR, and scrap the idea of making him act like a traditional tight end, double digit TD numbers are a realistic possibility.