Watch: Graham Discusses ‘Salute to Service’

Being tall has had its advantages for Green Bay Packers tight end Jimmy Graham, though it shot down one of his dreams.

“I wouldn’t change anything that’s happened in my life,” Graham said on Friday. “Obviously, I do enjoy being 6-7. There’s a lot of benefits with that, but as far as when I was a young kid, I always had the dream to fly a plane in formation, going past Mach 1. Always thought that would be pretty cool but, you know, life kind of finds its way to follow its own path.”

Football became Graham’s path, and who can argue with the results? Among tight ends in NFL history, he is seventh with 636 receptions, 11th with 7,687 receiving yards and fifth with 74 receiving touchdowns. Hall of Famers Tony Gonzalez, Shannon Sharpe and Ozzie Newsome are three of the tight ends with more career receptions than Graham.

While 6-foot-7 was too tall to become an Air Force pilot – 6-foot-5 is the maximum – the nation’s servicemen and servicewomen remain close to his heart. The NFL’s “Salute to Service” campaign is a favorite cause for Graham, and one that he hopes fans will keep in mind the 11 other months of the year. He’ll have some active-duty friends coming to Green Bay for Sunday’s game against Carolina

“These guys, they’re in the middle of nowhere doing who knows what, you know what I mean?” Graham said. “They usually tell me to suck it up, especially when I was younger and I was playing in the (Super)dome. They would always make fun of me. Now, I’m here north of the wall and this is just life now.”

Graham is an aviation enthusiast. He rebuilt a 1950s amphibious plane and is a pilot. He took quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a helicopter ride during the offseason.

Graham has more to say in the video with this story, and Graham did this video for The Players’ Tribune.