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Jimmy Graham
PurpleBaze
Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 29,923 
in NFL Talk
Selling the couch in NOLA, buying new couch in Seattle.
Comments
Wow this is a crazy deal. Mort says it includes either Seattles 15 or 16 first rounder and multiple other picks.
Not really sure what to make of it. Great pickup, or Percy Harvin 2.0?
I know Unger had a decent sized one ... so form a $$$ standpoint it can't be THAT bad of a match in that regard.
Not really worried about the 1st because that's not only essentially like an early 2nd round pick ... but the Hawks have a history of being terrible with their 1st round picks. When you factor in what the cap will mean for them in that regard, another instance of it probably not being a big deal.
As long as the Hawks keep a strong amount of their 3rd to 5th round picks that they are used to having, then they should be fine in the draft. I think they know that they've probably got a 3-5 year window in them with this current group before they will have to tear everything apart and figure out how to rebuild around Wilson for the 2nd part of their career.
As for Graham, it will definitely help them in the red zone. I think he'll split out more than he will be a normal TE. But he's a massive matchup nightmare for teams (if healthy) and that's one area where the Hawks really tend to struggle in the passing game right now. If you look at the combo of Graham and Luke Willson, both have the ability to stretch teams down the seam when LBs and S sell out to stop Beast and Wilson in the read option, you get them stretched down the middle. EVERYTHING that the Hawks do is predicated off of Lynch and Wilson.
From a pure $$$ standpoint, this is a no brainer for the Hawks.
And as I saw someone say on Twitter, the cost for Graham was less than what it would have taken to re-sign Maxwell ... which is crazy IMO.
Graham was paid 13mil last year, so deal is now 3 years at 27. The cap number likely won't be a big deal at all for his talent, plus they can restructure to save more as @SteveInShelton pointed out.
EDIT (Graham Contract Numbers for Hawks):
Graham will count 8mil this year, 9 in 2016, and 10 in 2017. The good news is that they can cut him at anytime with no cap ramifications. In total they lost about 6.5 mil in cap space this year with this move.
Only thing that concerns me is I feel like Carroll and Schneider might just be ok throwing patchwork OLs out there. Losing carpenter and unger stings. Last year was a little better but I hope they address these holes. But for Jimmy Graham I'll fucking take it.
The defense needs to rebuild the depth. A lack of depth at CB and DL played a huge role in losing the Super Bowl. The OL has been suspect for a few years.
Graham's a bit of a bitch ... but sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders for someone.