NY Jets: Could Jimmy Graham be missing piece on offense?

The NY Jets could truly launch a dynamic offense if they had a high caliber tight end. Would Jimmy Graham be the missing piece on offense to push the Jets further in 2016?

The Jets’ offense is missing just one key ingredient, and that is a tight end. Not just any tight end, but one that makes a difference, a playmaker. There is one which could be on the market, and he fills every void the Jets would need, the name is Jimmy Graham.

My editor Luis Tirado Jr. believes there is no place for Graham, with a Chan Gailey style offense. He does have a point; Jets’ tight ends were non-existent in 2015. Both Jeff Cumberland and Kellen Davis combined for eight receptions for 95 yards and one touchdown. It is also apparent that when Gailey was the offensive coordinator and then the head coach in Dallas, he didn’t use the tight end and would you use players such as Eric Bjornson, Clarence Kay and Mark Bruener extensively?

In Miami it was worse, Hunter Goodwin and Jed Weaver manned the position. Now in New York, the tight ends were rarely used, but Cumberland and Davis would not equal the skills of Graham combined. Gailey likes to use the spread formation, and for the most part, one or two receivers get the majority of targets, and the tight ends bring up the rear, but they are involved.

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He had mixed results with his tight ends with Denver, Pittsburgh and Dallas.

In Miami he had Goodwin and Weaver as tight ends, it didn’t last. In 2008, Gailey had perhaps the best tight end ever to play the game, Tony Gonzalez. This future Pro Football Hall of Fame representative had his best all-around season under the one-year of Chan Gailey.

Gonzalez ended up with 96 receptions (3^rd highest in career), 1,058 yards (4^th highest in career), and ten touchdowns (2^nd highest in career). His tight ends continued to deliver in 2011 and 2012 as Scott Chandler caught a total of 81 passes for 960 yards and 12 touchdowns.

In result, Gailey knows how to get his best talent involved, and if Graham came over to New York, he wouldn’t be wasted as he was in Seattle in possibly one of the worst trades in the NFL. Graham came to the Seahawks ready to add that last aspect to their passing game. Instead, they asked him to block. Graham was not timid to voice his complaints.

According to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, players mentioned that Graham is unhappy and stated: “Why did you bring me here if this is how you are going to treat me.” He finished with his lowest totals in his first season in Seattle, catching 48 passes for 605 yards and two touchdowns. He only played in 11 games, but he wasn’t going to come close to his normal numbers from 2011-2014.

Another issue I would address is his injury. He ended his season on to the IR because of a torn patellar tendon. The tear of the tendon could be worse than an ACL/PCL injury as it holds the knee cap in place. Doctor Selene Parekh diagrammed his injury which is similar to the Victor Cruz. According to Dr. Parekh, Graham should be healthy in about nine months, which means he won’t be ready until around October.

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Of course, none of this happens if the Seahawks are not willing to trade Graham. Interesting enough though is that they don’t need him or his salary. With Graham in the lineup, Seattle was 6-5, and out with injury, they went 4-1 and beat the Vikings in the Wild Card game. Their offense flowed better as well. They scored 267 total points (24 points per game average) with Graham and 156 (31.2 per game) without.

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