To say that Green Bay Packers tight end Jimmy Graham is due for a breakout year is somewhat of a silly statement. After all, we’re talking about a player who has made five Pro Bowls and accumulated well over 7,000 yards and 71 total touchdowns throughout his storied career.
Graham doesn’t need a breakout year to solidify himself as one of the top tight ends in NFL history.
He does, however, need a breakout year as a member of the Packers, and that’s what makes the 2019 season so important for both him and Green Bay.
Jimmy Graham Poised to Rebound With Green Bay Packers
The good news for Green Bay and Packers fans alike is that it’s actually not too risky to predict that Graham takes off and returns to form this season in Matt LaFleur’s first outing as head coach. Not only will this be Graham’s second year with the organization after signing last off-season, but more importantly this will be his second full season developing a rapport with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
That’s potentially the biggest reason to believe Graham is due for some big numbers.
Rodgers Trusts Who He Knows
The nature of Rodgers’ greatness is that he’s found a way to play outside of the lines between the lines. What does that mean? Simply put, he’s one of the greatest improvisers – if not the greatest – the game of football has ever seen. He has a way of making chicken salad out chicken you-know-what, and when a play is threatening to break down, perhaps nobody is better and more dangerous with the ball in his hands than Rodgers.
The key for Rodgers, though, is trust.
We saw it in multiple years of an unstoppable connection with Jordy Nelson. Receivers such as Randall Cobb, James Jones, and Donald Driver also profited from number 12’s steady trust as well. Rodgers needs to know that his receivers know what to do when a play breaks down. He’s the king of scramble drills, but a good scramble drill also requires the wide receiver to be on the same page. He can’t zig while Rodgers zags, and sometimes that trust and cohesiveness only comes with time and repetition.
That’s what makes this season so important for Graham and Rodgers.
This is Graham’s second full off-season in Green Bay and even though the offense is learning a new scheme, there are intangibles that any scheme requires in order to be successful. The biggest is generally trust between the quarterback and his receivers.
We saw Rodgers lean on Graham at times last season but due to injury to both players they could never really click. It makes sense that in 2019, if both players remain healthy, they will continue to grow in trust with each other – which makes the 6’7″ tight end that much more of a dangerous target.
LaFleur’s Scheme Will Cater More to Graham
First-year head coach Matt LaFleur would be crazy not to utilize Graham’s size and route-running experience, and the good news for both parties is that LaFleur’s offense should cater to Graham much more than the stale offense run by Mike McCarthy. By all accounts, McCarthy’s offense wasn’t all that favorable to tight ends not named Jermichael Finley for one reason or the other.
In stark contrast, the Packers should lean heavily on tight ends this season. In fact, per Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal, Green Bay will have multiple tight end central sets with multiple different roles for those tight ends:
For instance, LaFleur explained that McVay’s Los Angeles Rams favored “11” personnel — one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers. But in his one year as the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator and play-caller after working under McVay in 2017, LaFleur experimented with a host of groupings – “12” (one back, two tight ends, two receivers), “13” (one back, three tight ends, one receiver), “21” (two backs, one tight end, two receivers) and “22” (two backs, two tight ends, one receiver) last season.
“It just comes down to (preference),” LaFleur said “Like last year, we used Luke Stocker in (a fullback) role in Tennessee. He’s more of a traditionally a tight end. The year before in L.A., we were in ‘11’ personnel.
“It’s about finding our best 11 and putting those guys on the field.”
LaFleur is a disciple of San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, both who run offenses highly predicated on motion, timing, route running, scheme, and deception. That’s great for an aging tight end like Graham, who can’t rely as much on his freakish athleticism at 32 years old, especially considering last season’s injury history.
It stands to reason that LaFleur should be able to use motion, play-design and especially play-action to get Graham open in big-time situations – especially in the red zone. While McCarthy asked Graham to simply beat his opponents, LaFleur will enable him by putting him in the right position to succeed.
Graham should be able to take it the right of the way en route to potentially his biggest season since 2013 when he put 16 touchdowns with the New Orleans Saints.
