Jimmy Graham

Jimmy Graham, born November 24, 1986, is a former NFL tight end. He spent four years playing basketball for the Miami Hurricanes before switching to football for a single college season. The New Orleans Saints picked him in the third round of the 2010 draft. Over his career, he also suited up for the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, and Chicago Bears.

In his second pro season, Graham caught 99 passes for 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns, earning his first Pro Bowl nod and an All-Pro selection. That year, he became the first Saints tight end to top 1,000 receiving yards in a season, set the franchise record for receptions, and tied the team mark for touchdowns. His single-season receiving yards and touchdowns by a tight end rank second all-time in NFL history.

During his time with the Seahawks, Graham set franchise records for receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns by a tight end—and he did it in just three seasons.

Graham was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina, to a Black father and a white mother. His childhood was tough: at age 11, his mother placed him in a group home where older kids beat him. In high school, a church youth counselor took him in, later adopting him, helped him improve his grades, and he became a basketball star. He attended Eastern Wayne High School, then transferred to Community Christian in Wilson, North Carolina, and later played at Charis Prep there for his junior and senior years, earning a basketball scholarship to the University of Miami.

At Miami, Graham played for the men’s basketball team under coach Frank Haith from 2005 to 2009. He graduated in May 2009 with a double major in marketing and management, then stayed for graduate classes while playing one season of football. In 2009, as a tight end, he appeared in 13 games, catching 17 passes for 213 yards and five touchdowns.

Scouts called Graham extremely athletic, with a rare mix of size and speed for a tight end, but noted he was raw due to his limited college football experience.

The Saints drafted him 95th overall in the 2010 draft. He signed a four-year, $2.445 million rookie contract on July 28, 2010. As a rookie, he started just five games, backing up veteran Jeremy Shockey. In Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers, playing in his home state, he caught a 19-yard touchdown from Drew Brees in a 34–3 win. In Week 15 against the Baltimore Ravens, he had two receiving touchdowns in a 30–24 loss. The next week against the Atlanta Falcons, he scored the go-ahead touchdown late in a 17–14 victory. He finished his rookie year with 31 catches for 356 yards and five touchdowns, leading all NFC rookie tight ends in major receiving categories.

In 2011, his first full season as a starter, Graham opened with four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown in a 42–34 loss to the Green Bay Packers. In Week 3, he had four receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown in a 40–33 win over the Houston Texans. The next week, he caught 10 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown in a 23–10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He followed with eight catches for 129 yards in a 30–27 win over the Panthers, then seven for 124 yards in a 26–20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In a 62–7 win over the Indianapolis Colts, he had six catches for 54 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, he totaled 99 receptions, 1,310 yards, and 11 touchdowns, making his first Pro Bowl. He became the first Saints tight end to surpass 1,000 receiving yards, set the franchise record for receptions, and tied Marques Colston (2007) and Joe Horn (2004) for the team’s single-season touchdown record. In Week 17 against the Panthers, he broke Kellen Winslow’s NFL record for receiving yards by a tight end (1,290), but Rob Gronkowski broke it later that same day, finishing with 1,327 yards. Graham was named to the Pro Bowl, a second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press and Pro Football Focus.

The Saints went 13–3 and won the NFC South. In the Wild Card Round against the Detroit Lions, he had seven catches for 55 yards and a touchdown in a 45–28 win. In the Divisional Round against the San Francisco 49ers, he caught a 66-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Saints the lead, but they lost 36–32 on a last-second 49ers touchdown. He finished that game with five catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns. After the season, his peers ranked him 14th in the 2012 NFL Top 100.