Jimmy Graham

Jimmy Graham (born November 24, 1986) is an American football tight end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL).

He played only one year of college football at the University of Miami after playing four years of basketball.

Graham played basketball for the Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team under head coach Frank Haith from 2005 to 2009.

He set the franchise record for receptions in a season while tying Marques Colston in 2007 and Joe Horn in 2004 for the Saints franchise record for touchdowns in a season.

During the Saints' Week 17 win over the Carolina Panthers, Graham broke Kellen Winslow's NFL record of 1,290 receiving yards in a season by a tight end.

However, the record was broken later that day by New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who finished the season with 1,327 yards.

Graham graduated from Miami in May 2009 with a double major in marketing and management, then stayed at Miami to take graduate classes while playing a season of football.

In 2009, he played tight end and finished the season with 17 receptions for 213 yards and five touchdowns in appearances in 13 games.

According to scouts, Graham was "extremely athletic, with an outstanding combination of size and speed for the tight end position," yet he was considered very raw since he only had one year of college football experience.

He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Graham has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.

In his second season in the NFL, Graham had 99 receptions for 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns.

That year, he made his first Pro Bowl appearance and was selected as an All-Pro player at his position.

He became the first tight end in Saints history to have more than 1,000 receiving yards in a season.

He set the Saints franchise record for receptions in a season while also tying the Saints franchise record for touchdowns in a season.

Graham is second all-time for most receiving yards and receiving touchdowns by a tight end in a single season.

In only three seasons, Graham set the Seahawks franchise record for the most receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns at the tight end position.

Graham was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina to a black father and a white mother.

Graham had a difficult upbringing.

At age 11, his mother placed him in a group home where he was physically beaten by older children.

In high school, with help from a church youth counselor who took him in and eventually adopted him, he improved his grades, became a basketball star as a sophomore at Community Christian in Wilson, North Carolina, and at Charis Prep in Wilson, North Carolina, where he played as a high school junior and senior and earned a basketball scholarship at Miami.

Graham was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft, with the 95th overall selection.

He signed a four-year, $2.445 million rookie contract on July 28, 2010.

In his rookie season in 2010, Graham started in only five games, playing behind veteran tight end Jeremy Shockey.

In a Week 9 game at the Carolina Panthers, his first NFL game in his home state, Graham caught a 19-yard pass from quarterback Drew Brees to score his first career NFL touchdown, contributing to a 34–3 victory.

On December 19, against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15, Graham recorded two receiving touchdowns for his first multi-touchdown game in the 30–24 loss.

In Week 16, against the Atlanta Falcons, he scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the 17–14 victory.

Graham finished the 2010 season with 31 catches for 356 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.

Graham led all National Football Conference (NFC) rookie tight ends in major receiving categories.

Graham started the season with four receptions for 56 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in a 42–34 loss to the Green Bay Packers on NBC Thursday Night Football.

In Week 3, a 40–33 victory over the Houston Texans, he had four receptions for 100 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown for his first game reaching the century mark.

The next week, he recorded 10 receptions for 132 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in the 23–10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In the following game, a 30–27 victory over the Panthers, he recorded eight receptions for 129 yards.

He recorded his fourth straight game with at least 100 receiving yards in the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with seven receptions for 124 receiving yards in the 26–20 loss.

He recorded six receptions for 54 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in the next game against the Indianapolis Colts, a 62–7 victory.

Overall, in the 2011 season, his first full year as a starter, Graham had 99 receptions for 1,310 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns and made his first Pro Bowl.

He became the first tight end in Saints history to have more than 1,000 receiving yards in a season.

He was named to the Pro Bowl for the 2011 season.

In addition, he was named a second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press and Pro Football Focus.

The Saints finished with a 13–3 record and won the NFC South.