Jimmy Graham and the Green Bay Packers are heading into the 2019 NFL season looking to make a big leap forward. After failing to make the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, the franchise went into the offseason looking to make some big changes.
Brian Gutekunst signed three big defensive free agents. Za'Darius and Preston Smith were brought in on big deals to beef up the pass rush, while safety Adrian Amos was brought in to bolster the secondary. No offensive free agents were signed outside of offensive lineman Billy Turner.
While some fans were confused why the team didn't sign another weapon for Aaron Rodgers with Randall Cobb leaving town, there may be a very good reason. They kept Jimmy Graham for his second season with the team and are expecting that he will end up taking a big leap forward.
During the 2018 season with the Packers, Graham ended up catching 55 passes for 636 yards and two touchdowns. The numbers weren't what fans were expecting, but they weren't bad either.
At 32 years old, Graham still has some good football left to be played. He is still a matchup nightmare at 6-foot-7 and 265 pounds with the speed, athleticism, route running, and hands that he has. Green Bay will continue utilizing him heavily in 2019.
All of that being said, there are quite a few Fantasy Football players who will have to decide whether they want to take a risk on the Packers' starting tight end or not.
Let's go ahead and take a look at his reasonable fantasy outlook for the upcoming season.
Rodgers and Graham were without question on the same page last season. Even though the numbers may not reflect that, it was obvious that they had chemistry. Unfortunately, the opportunities for bigger numbers did not end up showing themselves on the stat sheet.
Matt LaFleur has taken over head coaching and play-calling duties after the organization decided to fire Mike McCarthy last season. He is known for being an offensive guru and is part of the Sean McVay coaching tree. The addition of him alone should be a major positive for Graham's Fantasy Football outlook.
Predicting a player's statistics for a season is never an easy task. That being said, there are some reasonable predictions for a tight end like Graham.
Fantasy players should expect Graham to catch at least 65 passes for 700 yards, but the uptick will come in his touchdown totals. Green Bay will target their biggest weapon in the red zone. Very few defenses have a player who can match up with Graham in the end zone.
Rodgers and Graham are going to tear defenses up this season and he will catch at least eight touchdowns.
Even though he may not end up being an every week starter for most fantasy lineups, he is going to have a solid season. As a late-round tight end, Graham could end up being a major scorer and turn into a starter.
Green Bay is keeping Graham around for a reason. They are going to put him in the best position to succeed and it's obvious that LaFleur wanted to keep that kind of a weapon around for 2019.
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