Jimmy Graham's Updated 2014 Fantasy Outlook Heading into Week 8

New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham was slowed by a shoulder injury and didn't make a single catch in the team's 24-23 loss to the Detroit Lions this past Sunday. That puts his ability to make a Week 8 fantasy impact in doubt, which is bad news for owners counting on the Saints' supreme pass-catcher.

As long as Graham's health checks out to the point of him seeing the field this weekend against the Green Bay Packers, though, fantasy owners will be hard-pressed to find a better substitute option.

Graham is a surefire, elite tight end when he's healthy. That just hasn't been the case in the past two games, which have even been spelled by a bye week.

Mike Triplett of ESPN.com documented what coach Sean Payton said after Week 7 regarding Graham's role in the offense:

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He was in the nickel, some of the third down, some of the red zone. We kind of did the same thing a year ago [when Graham returned from a plantar fasciitis injury] against Buffalo. We kind of had a set plan in place for him, and the challenge is just making sure you're ready if you're not playing on a more frequent basis.

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Sigmund Bloom of FootballGuys.com weighed in on those comments:

Having such a big, sure-handed target like Graham is a great idea in theory, but New Orleans didn't have a ton of opportunities to score in Detroit facing a formidable Lions defense.

Although the Packers have the second-worst rush defense in the NFL, they have been stronger against the pass, yielding just 214.9 yards per game. Green Bay has conceded the 10th-fewest fantasy points to tight ends in ESPN.com standard leagues, too.

But presuming Graham can get his shoulder to heal eventually, he is still worth sticking with. With an elite quarterback like Drew Brees passing to him and an offensive mastermind in Payton calling the plays, New Orleans will find a way to get Graham involved.

Bleacher Report's Adam Lefkoe brings up a strong point about the Saints' impending clash with the Packers in New Orleans, which may bode well for Graham despite the tough fantasy matchup:

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The New Orleans Saints haven't lost at home, under Sean Payton, since January 2, 2011.

— Adam Lefkoe (@AdamLefkoe) October 21, 2014"

After getting off to a surprising and disappointing 2-4 start to the season, the Saints need to do all they can to grind out wins moving forward. Playing to their strengths is the best way to do that, so as long as Graham is fit for it, his role will increase by default.

The sheer size (6'7", 265 lbs) and ball skills Graham brings to the gridiron make him a matchup nightmare, whether he's matched up on a linebacker, nickelback or even split out wide against a bigger cover corner.

New Orleans' schedule features a road trip to Carolina in Week 9 to face a Panthers defense that is a shell of what it was in 2013 as one of the NFL's premier units. Incentive to win there won't be lacking, because the NFC South is wide open at the moment and still perhaps New Orleans' for the taking.

After that is a three-game homestand, starting with the beat-up San Francisco 49ers, followed by Cincinnati and Baltimore. The latter two AFC North adversaries are 27th and 24th in pass defense respectively.

So as ominous as Graham's fantasy outlook appears to be at this time, there is reason for optimism.

Times have gotten rather desperate for the Saints, and even if they have to adopt a chuck-and-pray strategy to get Graham the ball, that is bound to produce at least modest production by Graham's standards. Thus, the bottom-line results should still be gaudy enough to make Graham among the fantasy leaders at his position by season's end.