Fantasy football owners knew that tight end Jimmy Graham would suffer a decline in production after being traded from the pass-happy New Orleans Saints to the run-first Seattle Seahawks this offseason. But no one expected Graham to be so mediocre in Seattle, though his disappointing season may have to do more with the team's offense. As of now, the All-Pro tight end ranks just eighth at the position with 55 standard fantasy points. That's behind guys like Benjamin Watson and Ladarius Green who went undrafted for the most part.
Overall, Graham has caught 38 passes for 450 yards and, most alarmingly, just two touchdowns. He's scored at least ten times in three of the previous four seasons which makes his drop in TD production all the more head-scratching. Fortunately, things may be looking up for his fantasy prospects.
"Jimmy Graham's targets have been inconsistent this season, but they're certainly on the rise of late," ESPN Fantasy Football Insider Mike Clay wrote. "After handling 19 percent of Seattle's targets during Weeks 1-5, Graham sits at 32 percent over the team's past three games. That's an increase from 5.2 to 8.3 per game. Seattle's offensive woes (1.5 touchdowns per game - second-lowest) haven't allowed Graham many scoring chances, but it's a promising sign that he's easily Russell Wilson's primary target. Graham remains a mid-pack TE1, and he has a chance to put up massive numbers if Seattle can score at even a league-average rate."
Though Graham hasn't seen the endzone since Week 3, he has seen double digit targets in two of the past three games. In that span, he's averaging nine targets, five receptions and 82 yards per week. The problem, as Clay mentioned, is that Seattle has had trouble scoring on offense. The Seahawks rank just 25th in points per game (20.9) this year.
Also not helping is next week's matchup against the Arizona Cardinals (Seattle is on a bye this week). Although the Cardinals let Cleveland Browns TE Gary Barnidge catch seven passes for 53 yards and one touchdown last week, they've allowed just the third-lowest average point total to opposing TEs all year (4.1).
Will Graham continue to turn it around as Wilson gets him more and more involved in the offense? All signs point to the affirmative, especially if his targets keep going up. But fantasy owners may want to temper their expectations for his next matchup against the Cardinals.
