With Jeremy Shockey gone, Jimmy Graham is poised for a breakout season as the unquestioned starter at the tight end position for the Saints.
Per Jeff Duncan’s twitter account:
“Jimmy Graham just said he’s up to 265 pounds from 255 last season. “That’s all I’ve been doing is working out,” he said. “It’s all muscle.”
“Here’s a shot of the bulked-up Graham. http://lockerz.com/s/110943992“
This sounds eerily familiar to Pierre Thomas’ offseason a year ago when he bulked up to make him more durable. Ironically, after all that work in the weight room, Thomas had his worst season from an injury perspective by wrecking his ankle this past year. Graham himself suffered an ankle injury towards the end of the year that cost him some time. In general, I’m all for him bulking up because increased reps as a starting tight end will require him to be more durable, and his ability to stay healthy over an entire season is an unknown at this point because he’s got such limited football history having only played the sports seriously for the past two years.
At the end of the day…
it’s nice to see Graham taking his career seriously and working hard to avoid injury. Hopefully the work he has put in will not affect his speed (he claims it’s all muscle and will have no impact on that) and will help him deal with the bumps and bruises of an NFL season better. We all believe and know he’s ready for a breakout season if he can just stay healthy. That’s the big question. It sounds like he’s taking the right steps to ensure that.
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