Saints Jimmy Graham’s potential career-ending slam dunk against the Falcons
Saints tight end Jimmy Graham may have a memorable farewell to his NFL career against his team’s fiercest opponent.
Jimmy Graham, a tight end for the New Orleans Saints, rejoined the team that handed him his first offseason 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 rookie season, he immediately displayed both qualities.
As a rookie, Graham saw little playing time behind starting tight end Jeremy Shockey. He would still play in fifteen games, hauling in thirty-one catches for three hundred and fifty-six yards and five touchdowns. Graham was given the starting tight end position by New Orleans heading into the 2011 season because of his outstanding rookie 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.
