Top Tight Ends - ESPN Insider

[Manster7588]

I want to see how he plays without a gunslinger QB. His opportunities are going to be limited. Either way, it's going to be very interesting!

Truth is Wilson's little dump offs may be just perfect for Graham.

 

[SteelersPride]

graham dont block, period, cant be a complete TE not blocking

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

graham dont block, period, cant be a complete TE not blocking

This is a good point and made me rethink my initial post. Graham said he worked on blocking but still.... it's yet to be seen on the field. Seattle's receiver group is so pedestrian though, anything helps lol.

Hopefully Graham will help when Wilson generates about an extra 3-4 seconds running around like a chicken with his head cut off in the backfield though. To someone's point, Graham might be a good fit for Wilson's 'dump off' passes.

 

[HammerDown]

Truth is Wilson's little dump offs may be just perfect for Graham.

Very possible.

 

[Iggloo]

I respect Witten for his career accomplishments, but the guy probably runs a 5.0 40 right now and is a shell of what he once was. He can still block and serve as a security blanket but he is nowhere close to #2 TE in the NFL.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

I respect Witten for his career accomplishments, but the guy probably runs a 5.0 40 right now and is a shell of what he once was. He can still block and serve as a security blanket but he is nowhere close to #2 TE in the NFL.

You said what I was trying to say much more tactfully.

 

[PatsFan2003]

I respect Witten for his career accomplishments, but the guy probably runs a 5.0 40 right now and is a shell of what he once was. He can still block and serve as a security blanket but he is nowhere close to #2 TE in the NFL.

He's definitely had a great career but he's not the player he was.

 

[Peytontowns]

Iowajerms question have you placed the insider cheat sheet or do not draft list pdf for this year. I saw you did it last year and would be nice for this year to have.

 

[cdumler7]

Well true... but just saying. Jimmy Graham should be on the list at a higher position. Even if the guy wasn't playing for Seattle he should be on there. FF end of day is a decent dictator as to how well we expect NFL players to perform and Witten if anything is on the decline. Witten is an amazing TE and I'd still love to have him on my team, but he's getting older and it was obvious last year his play has slightly declined.

Not your best argument in my opinion. Pass catching wise yes FF can be a decent showing of what a player does but even there so much of that is dictated by the QB you have and the system you run. Such as we know down in NO Graham was a feature player that got tons of targets. More opportunities means better numbers as a receiver. In Seattle probably the opposite in fewer targets probably meaning some of his receiving stats fall off a bit but it doesn't mean he is a worse player.

Also probably the biggest thing is being a receiver at the TE position is only half the job. More so than what a WR needs to be able to do a TE needs to be able to block for the run and even pass game some. Otherwise teams will know that when Graham comes into the game good chance it is a pass or good chance the defense has a major advantage at stopping the run. Believe me the Broncos went through this last year with Julius Thomas in he is definitely a weapon but teams knew what it meant when he was in the game. For the Broncos 95% of the time when Julius was in we either ran the opposite direction of him or were passing. I could see the same problem with Graham unless his actual blocking skills have improved.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Matt Spaeth should be #1 on the Best Blockers list.

 

[flyerhawk]

Also probably the biggest thing is being a receiver at the TE position is only half the job. More so than what a WR needs to be able to do a TE needs to be able to block for the run and even pass game some. Otherwise teams will know that when Graham comes into the game good chance it is a pass or good chance the defense has a major advantage at stopping the run. Believe me the Broncos went through this last year with Julius Thomas in he is definitely a weapon but teams knew what it meant when he was in the game. For the Broncos 95% of the time when Julius was in we either ran the opposite direction of him or were passing. I could see the same problem with Graham unless his actual blocking skills have improved.

I think that Graham needs to block at least once in a while to keep defenses honest but, truth be told, I think it is our other TE, Luke Willson, who really needs to up his blocking.

I also feel like there are a lot of people putting TOO much weight on blocking for a TE. Yes it matters but the entire reason why you have a TE out there rather than another tackle is because of their pass catching threat. Brent Celek is a good blocker but I doubt many people would want him over Graham or Kelce or Gronk or Olsen.

Truth be told, if the Seahawks biggest concern is Graham's blocking abilities, things are going to be far better on the line than I could have dreamed.

 

[cdumler7]

I think that Graham needs to block at least once in a while to keep defenses honest but, truth be told, I think it is our other TE, Luke Willson, who really needs to up his blocking.

I also feel like there are a lot of people putting TOO much weight on blocking for a TE. Yes it matters but the entire reason why you have a TE out there rather than another tackle is because of their pass catching threat. Brent Celek is a good blocker but I doubt many people would want him over Graham or Kelce or Gronk or Olsen.

Truth be told, if the Seahawks biggest concern is Graham's blocking abilities, things are going to be far better on the line than I could have dreamed.

Here is why it is so important. The reason you need your TE to be able to block as well is it makes teams have to gameplan all the more. Again the Broncos had a Graham clone pretty much in Julius Thomas. Teams knew exactly what they were going to do just based off of Julius Thomas being in the game. This is why Bronco fans couldn't wait for him to be gone honestly. He was terrible at blocking at it about got a few of our guys hurt when he was asked to block. He just flat out whiffed on a few blocks that got Manning hit and our RB's hit very quickly. That first time Graham whiffs on a block you will be seeing what I am talking about of how much not having your TE block can hurt your team. Now yes there is some major upside as their receiving ability especially around the goal line is huge and hardly stoppable so not saying there isn't some great upside to having a talent like Graham but there are some major downsides to it too. It is why for me there are a lot of TE's that I would take over Graham on my team right now. They are not the receiving threat that he is but they are the better all-around guys that make it that much harder to stop your team on every single play not just some of the plays.

 

[Tgann69]

Matt Spaeth should be #1 on the Best Blockers list.

Crockett Gilmore is a beast of a blocker and has the hands of Jerry Rice.

2nd year guy pencil his name in.

 

[seahawksfan234]

While Graham was with the Saints, it is difficult to say there was a better receiving TE in the NFL other than Rob Gronkowski.

Somewhat surprising to see him not listed.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

He's definitely had a great career but he's not the player he was.

I'm not the man I once was.... but I'm better once than I ever was.....

 

[dkmightyhammer]

I want to see how he plays without a gunslinger QB. His opportunities are going to be limited. Either way, it's going to be very interesting!

This argument always perplexes me. It's like people forget where Wilson came from. He wasn't always in a run first system, and he's proven he can "gunsling" with the best college QB's. It was only his height that knocked him down in the draft. Nothing else.

Just because Wilson hasn't chucked the ball a gazillion times like Rodgers, Manning, and Brady, it doesn't mean he can't. In College he was 8th, 5th, 7th, 1st, and 3rd in completions between the ACC, Big Ten and NCAA. The guy shares the record with Peyton freakin' Manning for the most TD's thrown in their first two years in the NFL. This part is from Wikipedia, but I have no reason to believe it's not true: "Wilson finished the season with 33 passing touchdowns, which set the single season record at Wisconsin and was the second-most in Big Ten history behind Drew Brees during the 1998 season at Purdue (39).[45] Wilson also set the single season FBS record for passing efficiency (191.8).[46]"

Can we please stop pretending that Wilson can't throw the ball?!? He's shown, in college and the NFL, that he can. Perhaps the biggest reason he hasn't put up the huge numbers that "QB experts" love is because his receiving corp is average or less? Most of his WR's have been undrafted FA's. Let's wait and see how Wilson does with a real receiving threat for once before we judge him.

 

[dkmightyhammer]

Truth is Wilson's little dump offs may be just perfect for Graham.

Wilson is one of the league's best at the deep ball.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Crockett Gilmore is a beast of a blocker and has the hands of Jerry Rice.

2nd year guy pencil his name in.

My fantasy football sleeper!

 

[jarntt]

I would NEVER disrespect someone who is going to be a Hall Of Famer but Witten is not the 2nd best TE in football. He's a 40 yard a game player these day. Zach Ertz had IDENTICAL numbers to Witten in almost 500 less snaps.

Come on PE1. It says COMPLETE TEs. The reason why Ertz had 500 less snaps was because he can't block and the team felt they were better off with Brent Celek in the game!!!

 

[fordman84]

This argument always perplexes me. It's like people forget where Wilson came from. He wasn't always in a run first system, and he's proven he can "gunsling" with the best college QB's. It was only his height that knocked him down in the draft. Nothing else.

Just because Wilson hasn't chucked the ball a gazillion times like Rodgers, Manning, and Brady, it doesn't mean he can't. In College he was 8th, 5th, 7th, 1st, and 3rd in completions between the ACC, Big Ten and NCAA. The guy shares the record with Peyton freakin' Manning for the most TD's thrown in their first two years in the NFL. This part is from Wikipedia, but I have no reason to believe it's not true: "Wilson finished the season with 33 passing touchdowns, which set the single season record at Wisconsin and was the second-most in Big Ten history behind Drew Brees during the 1998 season at Purdue (39).[45] Wilson also set the single season FBS record for passing efficiency (191.8).[46]"

Can we please stop pretending that Wilson can't throw the ball?!? He's shown, in college and the NFL, that he can. Perhaps the biggest reason he hasn't put up the huge numbers that "QB experts" love is because his receiving corp is average or less? Most of his WR's have been undrafted FA's. Let's wait and see how Wilson does with a real receiving threat for once before we judge him.

College? Are you quoting COLLEGE stats? Must be talking about a rookie QB. No? Hmm, that's odd that you still refer to his college stats to claim he can do something in the NFL. Something that he hasn't actually done in the NFL.