Brandon Graham Is Risk Worth Taking as NFL Free Agent
It would be easy not to know Brandon Graham. In fact, at this point, there is little reason to know the Philadelphia Eagles defender.
Graham has been in the NFL for five seasons. He has been active on game day 64 times during his career, but only 13 of those appearances were starts. At 26 years of age, Graham has just 121 total tackles in his career with 17 sacks and nine forced fumbles.
By all statistical measures, he is an unspectacular NFL player—actually, an unspectacular NFL free agent.
TOP NEWS
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Colts Release Kenny Moore
Projecting Every NFL Team's Starting Lineup 🔮
Rookie WRs Who Will Outplay Their Draft Value 📈
The Eagles were expecting much more from Graham when they drafted him in 2010. While at Michigan, the edge-defender excelled at making plays behind the line of scrimmage. During his final two seasons in college, he had 20.5 sacks and 46 tackles for loss.
He was so productive and so physically talented that head coach Andy Reid's Eagles were willing to select him as the 13th overall player in the draft.
Despite going that high in the draft, Graham was primarily used as a reserve within the Eagles defensive line rotation. He finished his rookie season with just 13 tackles and three sacks.
More significantly, a torn ACL injury prematurely brought his rookie season to an end in Week 14.
A cruciate ligament tear at that point of the season meant that the defensive end wasn't only losing part of his rookie season but also much of his second season.
Playing 16 total games and starting just six meant that Graham had essentially lost the first two seasons of his career.
In 2012, he returned to his role within the rotation of the defensive line. Graham was very impressive in his limited role, setting up the potential for him to become a full-time starter the following season.
Yet 2013 proved to be the opposite of what Graham would have expected. He drifted further into the shadows of the Eagles defensive line rotation. According to Pro Football Focus, Graham played just 353 snaps in 2013 after playing 435 in 2012.
Through four years of his career, Graham had done nothing of note. He had failed to even earn a starting role for a team that had invested a high first-round pick in him.
Graham would not find a fairy-tale ending in Philadelphia. He played more for the Eagles in 2014 than he had at any point previously in his career, but Graham still didn't feature in an every-down role. His limited exposure would obviously hurt his potential in free agency, but Graham's quality on the field proved to be more significant than his number of opportunities.
The pass-rusher had 47 tackles, 5.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in 16 games.
Graham will use his pass-rushing ability to sell himself to potential suitors on the free-agent market. Because pass-rushing talent is so important for success in today's NFL, competition for his signature could prove to be stiff.
That competition could make Graham's cost too high for his limited accomplishments thus far.
As such, there is some risk to signing Graham. If he can't take on a greater role in his new defense, then he will become an overpaid role player.
Considering the quality of his play against the potential pitfalls, though, that risk appears to be one worth taking.
Graham isn't a big player. He is listed at 6'2" and 265 pounds. However, he is very talented physically, carrying a stout frame that allows him to be both powerful in tight situations and explosive in space. His skill set is such that he causes problems for even the best offensive tackles in the NFL.
Joe Staley of the San Francisco 49ers found this out last year:
At the snap, Graham strafes toward the outside while keeping his eyes in the backfield. Staley, who initially lined up across from him, aggressively mirrors his movement. Staley attempts to knock Graham outside with his right hand, but the defensive end is too quick for him.
With very impressive balance and strength, Graham is able to plant his outside foot while using his left hand to knock Staley further outside.
The combination of Graham's hands and feet allows him to create a lane to penetrate the pocket past Staley's inside shoulder. Staley attempts to recover by hitting Graham with his outstretched arms as he runs past him, but Graham proves to be too strong.
Once Graham gets level with Staley, he accelerates to close on Colin Kaepernick before exploding through him in the tackle.
Rotational pass-rushers who boast this kind of individual talent are typically liabilities against the run. That is not the case with Graham. Instead, he is capable of using his impressive physical talent and his natural leverage to set the edge and penetrate running lanes.
Sharing a division with Washington and the Dallas Cowboys exposed Graham to some difficult rushing assignments. On this play, he lines up on the right side of the defense and is asked to set the edge against a tight end.
Although he is facing a tight end, Graham still isn't going to have an easy assignment, as he will need to establish his positioning and sustain it as the play develops.
Crucially, Graham is aggressive at the snap without being too aggressive. He doesn't push too far downfield or allow the tight end to get above him so he can create an outside running lane. While putting himself in the right position, Graham uses his hands to get into the chest of the blocker.
This is excellent initial hand placement from Graham.
Getting the initial hand placement right allows the defensive end to establish positioning. However, in order to take advantage of that hand placement, the player needs to have the strength and control to sustain that positioning while staying disciplined enough to react to the running back.
Graham is able to fend off the overtures of the tight end by working his hands and feet to perfectly play both running lanes.
When DeMarco Murray breaks to the outside, Graham is able to throw the tight end away with ease before bringing the running back down behind the line of scrimmage. Much like James Harrison used to, Graham is able to make up for his lack of overall size with his exceptionally strong hands.
This is the kind of play that Graham needs to prove that he can make consistently as a full-time player.
Bizarre circumstances have pushed Graham into this free-agent version of purgatory.
Every potential addition comes with questions that need to be answered, but Graham's whole skill set is doused in ambiguity because of how his career has developed to this point.
It's difficult to find special talent in the NFL.
The potential reward with Graham justifies a team overpaying for a player who hasn't necessarily proved himself capable of being an every-down lineman.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
