Why Jimmy Graham is merely a Hall of Pretty Good-er

USA Today

22-07-2025

Jimmy Graham's NFL career is over. After 13 seasons, 92 touchdowns and one kinda/sorta retirement, the field-stretching tight end is set to close the door on an impressive pro football journey.
Graham was a remarkable find by the New Orleans Saints. The 6-foot-7 forward was a key member of the Miami Hurricanes basketball program, starting 40 games in four seasons. That left little time for football, but after closing the door on his hardwood career he turned to the gridiron. He played a single season for a nine-win Hurricane squad in 2009, contributing five touchdowns across 17 receptions.
Those aren't the numbers of a hot college prospect, but running a 4.5-second 40 at 260 pounds was. The Saints took a gamble on him in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was a modest contributor and a part-time starter as a rookie. Then, in year two, he exploded for more than 1,300 receiving yards for an offense that was a capital-P problem in the NFC.
So, because it's July and we're still waiting on a bunch of NFL training camps to open, it's time to ask the question.
Is Jimmy Graham an NFL Hall of Famer?
No.
OK, you gotta give us more than that.
Fine, because it's July. Graham was certainly very good. He was a matchup nightmare who could get loose up the seam and haul in passes downfield or use his speed as a run-after-catch chain-mover. Announcers loved pointing out his college basketball background so much it became a meme unto itself. He was a fantasy football league-changer and vital to keeping Drew Brees prolific as the star quarterback entered his mid-30s.
But Graham wasn't a legend. He was a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler. Antonio Gates, who similarly made the transition from the court to the gridiron, was a five-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowler with 3,300 more receiving yards than Graham and still needed to sweat out a couple Hall of Fame ballots before his upcoming induction this summer. Greg Olsen finished his NFL career with two All-Pro nods and more receptions than Graham. While his Hall of Fame case won't be debated until the next round of voting, he seems likely to be stranded as a finalist or semifinalist.
Additionally, while Graham thrived as a receiver he wasn't a natural blocker. It wasn't really his job -- he was used more as a big, rangy wideout who could easily slide to the slot or even the sideline -- but he's still the guy who was brought in to block "75 percent of the time" when he signed with the Seattle Seahawks in 2015. If you view him through the prism of a mismatch-creating wideout, his 8,545 regular season receiving yards rank 94th in the NFL all-time. That's behind other memorable, very good players like Laveranues Coles, Johnny Morton, Vincent Jackson and former teammate Tyler Lockett.
Make no mistake. Peak Jimmy Graham was a monster. From 2011 to 2014, he averaged 89 catches, 1,099 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns per 16-game season. Unfortunately, he only had one season with at least 60 catches in the eight that followed.
Thus, Jimmy Graham was a very good player. His transition from basketball to football will be a model for other lightning quick undersized power forwards to follow for years. But he's not a Hall of Famer.