Once again, Rodgers talks up need to get Graham involved
Week after week, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and coach Matt LaFleur say it’s important to get tight end Jimmy Graham involved.
Why?
In 20 games as the Green Bay Packers’ primary tight end, what has Graham done to merit such overwhelming confidence? Other than the need to get return on financial investment?
“I see it in practice. I do,” Rodgers said on Wednesday. “I see him making plays in practice. I see him using his body, running down the field, catching the ball with his hands, getting open, getting separation – and everybody else does, as well. So, we’ve got to keep finding ways to put him in a situation where he can use his speed and his ability and his catch radius and get him going early like I feel like we did last week.”
Since the start of the 2018 season, 41 tight ends have been targeted at least 40 times. Graham ranks ninth with 64 receptions and 727 yards and tied for 16th with four touchdowns but is 37th with a catch rate of 61.0 percent and 28th with 6.92 yards per target.
That’s certainly not bad production but Graham is being paid to put up superb production. With his three-year, $30 million contract, his $10 million average ranks No. 1 among tight ends. Moreover, his 2019 cap charge of $12.67 million is by far the highest among tight ends.
When Graham collected a $5 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the league-year in March, his place on the roster was practically secure.
Graham caught a touchdown pass in the opening game against Chicago but was held without a catch against Minnesota and Denver. The Packers got Graham going on Thursday against Philadelphia, with Graham catching six passes for 61 yards and one touchdown. He might have been the hero of the game had he added another touchdown on fourth-and-goal at the 1 in the fourth quarter. Instead, he went up for the ball with one hand rather than two and the pass fell incomplete.
“He’s well aware that he should have went up with two (hands),” tight ends coach Justin Outten said. “The one before that, it was a combative situation so that was understandable, but he’s well aware that he should have gone up with two on the last one.”
Rodgers counts Graham among his closest friends on the team. Nobody has said Graham sulked about the lack of balls thrown his way in prior weeks. His touchdown catch against the Eagles, with Rodgers extending the play and Graham taking his route upfield, was excellence. But those plays have been fleeting for a player who will turn 33 on Nov. 24.
With star receiver Davante Adams potentially sidelined for Sunday’s game at Dallas, Graham figures to get his chances. The Cowboys have allowed 26 completions to tight ends, the sixth-most in the league.
“I think that’s why he’s been in the league so long is dealing with those situations and rolling with it,” Outten said. “The bottom line is it’s not so much the ball in his hand, it’s more so, ‘How can I help the team out?’ It’s, ‘I feel like I need to impact the game a little bit more,’ and sometimes you do a little more than you’re supposed to be doing because you’re just trying so hard. In those situations, this week, you could see him be a little more confident and a little more cool, calm and collected.”
