Packers: Why Jimmy Graham had a quiet game in Week 1

A closer look at Jimmy Graham’s quiet debut for the Green Bay Packers.

New GM Brian Gutekunst made a number of free agent acquisitions this past offseason, but none bigger than bringing in tight end Jimmy Graham. For a number of years, figuring out the tight end position has been something that has eluded the Green Bay Packers, and Graham could be the solution to that problem.

However, in his highly anticipated debut this past Sunday, Graham was unheard of for most of the game.

He was able to see a lot of playing time though, Graham was on the field for 59 out of the Packers’ 60 offensive plays. During that time he tallied two catches on four targets for eight yards.

Why the slow start?

There are a number of reasons that contributed to Graham’s performance, one being a lack of plays ran in the red zone by Green Bay. Inside the 20 is where Graham has been the most effective over his career. Of his 69 career touchdown receptions, 55 have occurred in the red zone. He also has 588 career yards and an average of 7.3 yards per reception while in the red zone.

Another factor was how the Bears defense played Graham. On just about every play, the defensive end for Chicago would chip Graham on the line of scrimmage before rushing the quarterback. This slowed Graham getting off of the line of scrimmage, disrupting the timing of his route. That paired with the pressure on Aaron Rodgers for portions of the game led to Graham not being an option on many plays.

Last piece to consider were the formations being used offensively. During this game the tight end was not featured as much as it had been in the preseason. The Packers ran a number of three tight end sets in the preseason but refrained from this formation on Sunday.

Other Packers tight end Lance Kendricks only had one reception on one attempt, while Marcedes Lewis only saw the field for seven snaps. Now some of the lack of plays for the tight end position were due to the Packers being down by three scores for much of the game, but you hope to see Graham more involved moving forward.

What to expect next for Graham

I would anticipate Minnesota using the same tactics as Chicago did on Graham since it worked so well. They will be physical with him on the line of scrimmage, trying to knock him off his route and disrupt the timing between him and Rodgers. Minnesota has a strong pass rush and a good secondary, so it will be another tough matchup for Graham.

Hopefully the Packers won’t fall behind so quickly and can get Graham more involved, especially with more red zone trips. That is the area of the field he will be able to best exploit the Vikings defense and be most effective.

Now it’s only been one game for Graham in Green Bay, and it was a very unique game to say the least. So I hope that no one has taken their “panic” button out yet.

He is a physically imposing tight end and will create defensive mismatches for this Packers offense. I anticipate Graham being a big contributor this season, even though Week 1 began quietly.