{"id":69381,"date":"2019-07-31T18:48:21","date_gmt":"2019-07-31T22:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=69381"},"modified":"2019-07-31T18:48:21","modified_gmt":"2019-07-31T22:48:21","slug":"jimmy-graham-breakout-packers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/07\/31\/jimmy-graham-breakout-packers\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Graham Poised for “Breakout” Year With Green Bay Packers"},"content":{"rendered":"

To say that Green Bay Packers<\/a> tight end Jimmy Graham<\/a><\/strong> is due for a breakout year is somewhat of a silly statement. After all, we\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n

Graham doesn\u2019t need a breakout year to solidify himself as one of the top tight ends in NFL history.<\/p>\n

He does, however, need a breakout year as a member of the Packers, and that\u2019s what makes the 2019 season so important for both him and Green Bay.<\/p>\n

Jimmy Graham Poised to Rebound With Green Bay Packers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The good news for Green Bay and Packers fans alike is that it\u2019s actually not too risky to predict that Graham takes off and returns to form this season in Matt LaFleur<\/strong>\u2019s first outing as head coach. Not only will this be Graham\u2019s 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<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s potentially the biggest reason to believe Graham is due for some big numbers.<\/p>\n

Rodgers Trusts Who He Knows<\/h3>\n

The nature of Rodgers\u2019 greatness is that he\u2019s found a way to play outside of the lines between the lines. What does that mean? Simply put, he\u2019s one of the greatest improvisers \u2013 if not the greatest \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

The key for Rodgers, though, is trust.<\/p>\n

We saw it in multiple years of an unstoppable connection with Jordy Nelson<\/a><\/strong>. Receivers such as Randall Cobb<\/a><\/strong>, James Jones<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>and Donald Driver<\/a><\/strong> 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\u2019s the king of scramble drills, but a good scramble drill also requires the wide receiver to be on the same page. He can\u2019t zig while Rodgers zags, and sometimes that trust and cohesiveness only comes with time and repetition.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what makes this season so important for Graham and Rodgers.<\/p>\n

This is Graham\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 which makes the 6’7″ tight end that much more of a dangerous target.<\/p>\n

LaFleur\u2019s Scheme Will Cater More to Graham<\/h3>\n

First-year head coach Matt LaFleur would be crazy not to utilize Graham\u2019s size and route-running experience, and the good news for both parties is that LaFleur\u2019s offense should cater to Graham much more than the stale offense run by Mike McCarthy. By all accounts, McCarthy\u2019s offense wasn\u2019t all that favorable to tight ends not named Jermichael Finley<\/a><\/strong> for one reason or the other.<\/p>\n

In stark contrast, the Packers should lean heavily on tight ends this season. In fact, per Jason Wilde<\/strong> of the Wisconsin State Journal<\/a>, Green Bay will have multiple tight end central sets with multiple different roles for those tight ends:<\/p>\n

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For instance, LaFleur explained that McVay\u2019s Los Angeles Rams favored \u201c11\u201d personnel \u2014 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 \u2013 \u201c12\u201d (one back, two tight ends, two receivers), \u201c13\u201d (one back, three tight ends, one receiver), \u201c21\u201d (two backs, one tight end, two receivers) and \u201c22\u201d (two backs, two tight ends, one receiver) last season.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt just comes down to (preference),\u201d LaFleur said \u201cLike last year, we used Luke Stocker<\/a> in (a fullback) role in Tennessee. He\u2019s more of a traditionally a tight end. The year before in L.A., we were in \u201811\u2019 personnel.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s about finding our best 11 and putting those guys on the field.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

LaFleur is a disciple of San Francisco 49ers<\/a> head coach Kyle Shanahan<\/strong> and Los Angeles Rams<\/a> head coach Sean McVay<\/strong>, both who run offenses highly predicated on motion, timing, route running, scheme, and deception. That\u2019s great for an aging tight end like Graham, who can\u2019t rely as much on his freakish athleticism at 32 years old, especially considering last season\u2019s injury history.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>