Seahawks will be better because they lost Jimmy Graham
By Lee Vowell
Jimmy Graham might potentially be a Hall of Fame tight end. But the Seahawks are better off without him.
The Seattle Seahawks never needed Jimmy Graham. And Jimmy Graham never needed the Seahawks. Seattle traded center Max Unger to the New Orleans Saints three years ago for Graham. Seattle should regret the move the most.
Still, Graham has to feel that he would have been better off with a team that fit his unique skill set. Sure, he caught 10 touchdown passes in 2017, but that was about all he did. He set a career low for yards-per-catch and dropped passes. Was part of this his fault? Yes. But was part of Graham’s numbers Darrell Bevell’s system? Of course.
Now Graham is a member of the Green Bay Packers. He will probably have a wonderfully productive season in 2018. The Seahawks, though, will be a better offense without Graham.
At Seattle’s best, they ran the ball with Marshawn Lynch gaining yards behind an offensive line that wasn’t really very good. Chris Carson may not be Lynch. Or he might be. Rashaad Penny could potentially be better than Lynch. The line still isn’t much better, but the running backs could make it seem that way.
Ch-ch-changes
Brian Schottenheimer was brought in this offseason as the new offensive coordinator. He has traditionally liked to run the ball. Seattle needs to run the ball more than they have the last two seasons to make Pete Carroll’s idea of what makes a team successful work.
The Seahawks also drafted Rashaad Penny in the first round. And they signed D.J. Fluker to probably start at right guard. Fluker is a massive human who doesn’t pass-block well but does when it comes to running the ball. Will Dissly, a tight end from the University of Washington, was taken by Seattle in the fourth round of this year’s draft.
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And we 12s all know that as much as we wanted Graham to be improving as a blocker, he wasn’t ever going to be a good one. And he shouldn’t have been. He is a great receiver. Graham wasn’t a good fit in Seattle. The Seahawks want to run the ball and get back to the identity they had in 2012-2015. They couldn’t do this with Graham and he is gone. Team and player are both better off.