Houston Texans Player Projection: Garrett Graham
By Josh Wilson
Welcome to another player projection post. As the Houston Texans enter the 2015 season, we’re all itching for everything and anything football, even though the preseason has even yet to begun. Here at Toro Times, we’re dedicated to giving you just that, and making sure even during the offseason, we can all discuss the sport we all love, and the team we all love.
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We’ve done other projections, and you can head over to our “predictions” tab in order to see all of our player projections and other predictions for the 2015 season.
So, now let’s get a prediction in for one of the Texans’ tight ends, Garrett Graham.
A Look Back
Although he shares a last name with one of the league’s best, and probably most popular tight ends Jimmy Graham, they’re two very different players. In my post examining if the Texans have a breakout player on their roster, I brought up Garrett, and compared him to Jimmy.
They both came into the league in the same year, but have adopted much different roles. Jimmy has become a greater weapon for big yards offensively, while Garrett has yet to become this as a tight end. He functions a bit differently.
Graham’s longest catch has been 42 yards, and best season came in 2013 when he had 49 receptions for 535 yards altogether. Over the course of his career, he has averaged over 10 yards per reception, a decent number. This has made him a great target when the Texans are in the red zone, and going back to 2013, he had a decent five touchdowns that year.
Altogether, their hasn’t been anything overly glamorous about Graham’s career thus far, but that’s what makes him a ticking time bomb. He could be ready to explode as a great player at any moment.
What To Expect In 2015
Should we expect much of the same from Graham in 2015? Maybe not. Maybe this is the year that Graham will really break out in the NFL. What we’ve seen from the tight end position around the league is certainly evolving into a large, physical receiver, and personally I would like to see Graham adapt to this as well.
No doubt, he is aware of the changes for his position around the league, and should be actively looking to make himself a player that can change and mold to different gamelans and types of play. I expect Graham to have a bump up in receiving yards, as well as touchdowns, as he could become a very physical goal line and fourth-and-inches receiver.
One of my favorite tight ends, Jeremy Shockey, used this play in Super Bowl XLIV in order to give the New Orleans Saints the lead. He used his physical nature to plow into his defender and make himself a target on this goal line play, despite decent coverage. I would love to see Graham do the same.
I would also like to see him “box out,” on goal line plays, using his body to make himself available even when covered. These are all realistic expectations for any tight end in the league.
Toro Times Bold Prediction For Garrett Graham In 2015
Now that we’ve gone over what to expect realistically, let’s talk big goals, shall we? After all, we should shoot for the stars. Personally, I’m dreaming extra big for him.
Here are my Toro Times bold predictions for Garret Graham this season:
- 7 touchdowns
- 650 yards receiving
- 95+ targets
Are these predictions out of this world? They certainly blow out his past statistics. Or could they be just right if Graham is able to break out as an elite tight end this year? Let us know in the comments!