Saints Jimmy Graham Could Culminate Great Career With Slam Dunk Performance.

Saints of New Orleans, TE Jimmy Graham rejoined the team that had given him his first summer opportunity. Graham was seen as a raw project when he was selected by the Saints in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of the University of Miami (Fla.). He was truly drafted as a basketball player, and during his four years with the Hurricanes, he made 120 appearances and started 40 games.

Graham caught 17 catches for 213 yards and five touchdowns in his lone season of collegiate football play. Because of his mix of size (6’7″ and 265 pounds) and athletic ability, he was still a compelling NFL possibility. In his debut season as a professional, both qualities were evident right away.

Graham played sparingly as a rookie behind starting TE Jeremy Shockey. He’d still see action in 15 games, catching 31 passes for 356 yards and an impressive five touchdowns. His performance as a rookie was enough to convince New Orleans to hand the starting tight end role over to Graham coming into the 2011 campaign.

For the Saints in 2011, Graham caught 99 catches for 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns, making him one of the best players on one of the greatest offenses in NFL history. It was the second-highest number of receptions a tight end had in a single season in NFL history at the time. It would have been the highest receiving yards for a tight end in an NFL season if not for Rob Gronkowski’s 1,327 yards in 2011.

Between 2011 and 2014, Graham would be one of the NFL’s top weapons. Over those four years, he averaged 89 receptions and 1,099 yards while catching 46 touchdowns. In 2013, he led the NFL with 16 touchdown receptions. It is still the second most for a tight end in a single season in NFL history and remains a Saints franchise record.

In one of the most controversial trades in team history, Graham was traded to the Seattle Seahawks during the 2015 offseason. While he still had some productive years with the Seahawks, Packers, and Bears, he never achieved the same success he’d had in New Orleans.

Although Graham’s return to New Orleans evoked nostalgia, it was ultimately underwhelming. Pete Carmichael, the offensive coordinator, has also mostly neglected the guy, who is obviously no longer the same. Even yet, Graham has only caught six passes for the Saints this season and has four touchdown receptions.

Graham has had a lasting impression on the history of the team in basically just slightly more than four complete seasons with New Orleans. As a Saint, he has 392 catches for 4,791 yards and 55 touchdowns. In addition, it is sixth on the team’s all-time list of receptions and receiving yardage, and it is second in New Orleans history for receiving scores.

Now 37 and in his 13th season, Graham might be suiting up for his final NFL game. How fitting that it comes against the Saints most hated rival, the Atlanta Falcons. Graham has carved out a permanent place in the nightmares of Falcon fans. In nine games against Atlanta as a Saint between 2010 and 2014, Graham caught 49 passes for 635 yards and eight touchdowns.

Jimmy Graham isn’t the same player for the Saints as he was ten years ago—a player deserving of the Hall of Fame. How appropriate would it be, following an incredible career for the franchise, for Graham to catch a huge touchdown against fierce rival Atlanta, then cap off the play (and maybe his career) with his signature dunk over the crossbar?

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