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NFL

Healthy, full offseason for Jimmy Graham excites Seahawks
10:42 AM ET

  • Sheil KapadiaESPN Writer

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    • Covered the Philadelphia Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine and Philly.com from 2008 to 2015.
    • Covered the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL for BaltimoreSun.com from 2006 to 2008.

At this time last year, Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham was rehabbing from a ruptured patellar tendon injury, and his status for Week 1 of the 2016 season was in doubt.

Graham ended up making it back and played in every game, piling up 923 receiving yards, third best among NFL tight ends.

This offseason, he’s already said he plans on working out with quarterback Russell Wilson, and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll believes Graham can have an even bigger impact in 2017.

“It’s really one of the beautiful things that’s happening this offseason is that Jimmy has a chance to work out and get better,” Carroll told reporters Thursday at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. “Last year, he was just rehabbing. If you can imagine at this time last year, he was looking at that scar and wondering if he’s ever going to be able to run again. He barely made it back to camp, then barely made it into the season, then had a marvelous season under all of those circumstances. Under any normal circumstances, he had a marvelous season.”

Graham is going into the final year of his contract, and the team has no plans to release him even though Graham is due $10 million in 2017. That includes a $2 million roster bonus on March 11.

At some point, the Seahawks could consider trying to extend Graham’s contract. Or they could just let him play out his deal, and if Graham leaves in free agency next offseason, Seattle would be in line for a compensatory pick.

Last season, Graham was tied for seventh among tight ends with 94 targets and led all players at his position in yards per reception (14.2).

The one area where the Seahawks need to get more from Graham is the red zone. He had six red-zone catches last season, which ranked 66th in the NFL.

“In communicating with him, he feels great,” Carroll said. “He’s thrilled about the chance to work out. He’s going to be working with Russell wherever they get together and do their thing. They’re looking forward to that. They didn’t have the chance to do that last year. He couldn’t run. He couldn’t work out. And the amazing thing is that he had such a good season under those circumstances, so we’re really looking forward to what comes up, and I know he is, too. Everybody’s pumped up about it.”

NFL

Should Christian McCaffrey entice the Raiders?

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Might the Oakland Raiders be intrigued by Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey when their turn to pick comes up at No. 24 in the first round of next month’s NFL draft?

Should they be interested?

Perhaps in the second or third round, right? There are more pressing needs, such as interior pass rush. Or middle linebacker. Or cornerback. But with free agency opening next week, the Raiders could address some needs there, and Oakland still has to figure out what to do at running back as Latavius Murray enters free agency and Adrian Peterson casts knowing glances the Raiders’ way.

But after a slow start in combine drills — 10 bench-press reps — McCaffrey put on a show Friday, one that might have elevated him into first-round consideration.

As ESPN NFL draft maven Todd McShay noted in an Insider piece, McCaffrey — who entered the combine as McShay’s No. 37-ranked prospect — ran a faster time in the 40-yard dash (4.48 seconds) than Florida State’s Dalvin Cook (4.49), LSU’s Leonard Fournette (4.51) and Tennessee’s Alvin Kamara (4.56).

McCaffrey, the son of longtime NFL receiver Ed McCaffrey, also raised eyebrows and showed his shiftiness with a 6.57-second time in the three-cone drill, the second-fastest among running backs since 2006. His pass-catching ability stood out, too.

A strong showing in Friday’s combine drills gave Christian McCaffrey’s draft stock a big boost. Joe Robbins/Getty Images

As McShay wrote, “If you draft McCaffrey, you’re getting a really good running back and wide receiver.”

McCaffrey set an NCAA record with 3,864 all-purpose yards in 2015 and rushed for 1,603 yards last season while dealing with a hip injury. At 6-foot and 200 pounds, he might not be a lead back, but he could complement the Raiders’ mighty mite RBs, Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington, by catching balls out of the backfield or lining up in the slot.

“I don’t think there’s anyone else that can do all the things I can as far as running between the tackles, outside pass protect, play X, Z, slot and do a lot of things in the return game as well,” McCaffrey said at the combine Thursday.

“I think that’s what sets me apart.”

McCaffrey, who sat out Stanford’s Sun Bowl game to avoid injury, already has connections with the Raiders: His brother Max, who ran a 4.36-second 40 as a receiver at Duke last spring, was in camp with Oakland. And Christian was high school teammates with Raiders coach Jack Del Rio’s son Luke at Valor Christian High outside Denver, where current Raiders assistant linebackers coach Brent Vieselmeyer was their head coach.

“It’s so surreal,” McCaffrey said. “Growing up, [Del Rio’s] son Luke was my quarterback in high school. I remember he [Jack Del Rio] was in the stands, with the Broncos, and we would hang out and have dinner with their family. Looking at the Raiders side, looking at the Broncos side, just knowing that there are so many people here that I’ve grown up knowing, it’s pretty surreal that I’m here [at the combine] now as a player.”

NFL DraftRound 1: April 27, 8 p.m. ET
Rds. 2-3: April 28, 7 p.m. ET
Rds. 4-7: April 29, noon ET
Where: Philadelphia

NFL draft home page »

• 2017 NFL draft order »
• Mel Kiper Jr.: Mock 2.0 »
• Todd McShay’s Top 32
• McShay: Top prospects by position
• Todd McShay: Mock 2.0 »
• Mel Kiper Jr.’s Big Board »
• Mel Kiper Jr.: Top 10 by position »
• Pro day schedule for prospects »
• Underclassmen who have declared »
• NFL draft player rankings »

The McCaffrey genetics run deep, from father Ed to Christian’s mother, Lisa, who played soccer at Stanford, to grandfather Dave Sime, who lettered in baseball and track and field at Duke and won the silver medal in the 100 meters at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. There is also uncle Scott Sime, who played fullback at Duke; uncle Billy McCaffrey, who won a national basketball championship at Duke in 1991; and aunt Monica McCaffrey, who played basketball at Georgetown.

The Raiders, you could say, have already done their due diligence on McCaffrey.

“Christian McCaffrey is, first of all, an amazing young man,” Jack Del Rio said at his media session Thursday.

“I’ve seen Christian and I heard the people question whether he’d be able to go from the high school level to the college level. He tore it up. And now the questions will come out, can he go from the college game to the pro game? I think you’re going to see the same thing. This guy’s a great football player, and I think he will have an impact in this league. It’s a great family, Lisa and Ed, and I’m really happy for them and their kids.”

Happy enough to contemplate McCaffrey at No. 24?

NFL

Incomparable Micah Hyde will cash in, with Packers or someone else

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s a question Micah Hyde might hear when NFL teams start calling him or his agent, Jack Bechta, next week when free agency opens.

“Who in the league reminds you of yourself?” Bechta asked his client.

Hyde thought and thought and thought.

“I just looked at him, and I said, ‘Nobody,’” Hyde said. “’Nobody in the league.’”

Bechta already was deep into his preparation for Hyde’s first foray into free agency, but it never hurts to have comparables when it comes to determining and setting the market. In reality, however, there are few players who can do everything the versatile defensive back has done for the Green Bay Packers the past four seasons.

The versatile Micah Hyde has nine interceptions in four seasons (including playoffs) with the Packers, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2013 draft. Jon Durr/Getty Images

“Obviously, there are guys in the league that play the nickel position,” Hyde said of the slot defensive-back spot that was his primary position.

But that’s hardly the only place Hyde lined up. He’s played the traditional safety spot. He’s played in the slot as either the nickel (fifth defensive back) or dime (sixth DB). He’s played the outside cornerback spot, where he was lined up when he picked off Lions QB Matthew Stafford with 1 minute, 30 seconds left in the regular-season finale at Detroit to help the Packers clinch the NFC North title and make the playoffs. Even before that game, Lions receiver Golden Tate called Hyde a “jack of all trades.”

“Maybe there’s a couple of guys who can play any position in the secondary,” Hyde said in a phone interview from his offseason home in San Diego. “But if you put all that together, no one’s back there returning punts, returning kickoffs or being the fullback on the punt team.

“That’s why my confidence is at an all-time high.”

Add it all up, and it will likely take a big offer from the Packers to retain him. Until Friday, Hyde hadn’t heard anything from the team that drafted him in the fifth round out of Iowa in 2013. Bechta and Packers contract negotiator Russ Ball met Friday at the NFL scouting combine to discuss Hyde’s future.

“It’s obvious I would love to be back in Green Bay,” Hyde said. “That’s the best place for me — the people there, the organization, the coaches, my teammates. It’s been a blessing to be there the last four years, so I would love to continue to be there for many years to come. But at the same time, there really hasn’t been any conversation. This isn’t something that’s rare; this happens sometimes.”

Ball has met with the agents for most — if not all — of the Packers’ pending free agents. ESPN confirmed that Ball sat down at the combine with the agents for the following players: tight end Jared Cook, running back Eddie Lacy, guard T.J. Lang, center JC Tretter and Hyde. It’s likely the Packers did the same with the agents for pass-rushers Julius Peppers, Nick Perry and Datone Jones.

“I think our players over the course of the years — and now we’re talking about players who’ve retired and moved onto other things in life — I think our players appreciate the fact that the organization tried its best to keep their own players,” Packers general manager Ted Thompson said at the combine. “I think our former players and current players appreciate it.”

But Hyde might be among the toughest to sign, because he’ll want a deal commensurate with veteran starting safeties, given how prominent the nickel and dime defensive packages have become because of the prevalence of three- and four-receiver sets.

Outside of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Hyde might have been the Packers’ most productive defensive back, especially late in the season. He intercepted four passes in a seven-game stretch, including the playoffs. One of them was the game-clincher at Detroit and another was a game-saver in the divisional-round playoff victory at Dallas.

Hyde played nearly 1,000 snaps last season, although he couldn’t finish the NFC Championship Game because of a shoulder injury that he said is now healed. He’s played in all but one game in his pro career.

The 26-year-old has tried to keep his mind off the stress of free agency. He’s traveled with family and friends since the season ended, but returned this week to San Diego to await word on his future. When asked what advice Bechta gave him about the free-agent process, Hyde said: “Just enjoy it. Don’t get too stressed out about it. I’m confident in what I put out on film and what I did for the team.”

NFL

Saints meet top QB prospects, but no urgency to replace Drew Brees

One of these years, the New Orleans Saints could wind up drafting Drew Brees’ successor in Round 1, maybe even this year if they find a quarterback they absolutely covet.

For the third year in a row, the Saints have been meeting with many of the top quarterback prospects at the NFL scouting combine, including Deshaun Watson and Mitch Trubisky, according to the New Orleans Advocate and other reports.

North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky was among the quarterbacks the Saints talked to at the NFL combine this week in Indianapolis. Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports

However, the Saints’ efforts would still probably be better classified as due diligence than as a determination to find Brees’ successor.

Even though Brees is 38 years old and heading into the final year of his contract, general manager Mickey Loomis expressed long-term confidence in Brees to the Saints’ website Friday.

“I fully expect Drew to spend the entirety of the balance of his career with us. And I think he does as well,” Loomis said. “So I’m not worried about it. I don’t think he’s worried about it.”

As I’ve written in recent months, I do think Brees would prefer a long-term commitment from the Saints. But he likely won’t make a public push for a long-term extension this offseason after the Saints made it clear last year that they’d rather work in one-year increments to keep their options open long-term.

The Saints shouldn’t have any concerns about an imminent drop-off with Brees, though, after he just had his best season in five years, once again leading the NFL with 5,208 passing yards.

“Every year, we’re looking at and evaluating the quarterback class,” coach Sean Payton told the Saints’ website. “This year would be no different. It becomes a little bit more, not paramount, but the focus becomes a little bit more shifted in that direction, when you look at Drew’s age and his experience. And yet, we saw him play at a level last year that would be hard to suggest we’ve seen a decline. He’s doing exceptionally well.

“But we would evaluate this class no different than the prior. We’re looking closely at who the top players are, who’s here, and then really trying to grade them compared to each other, but then also grade them relative to where they would fit in any draft. That’s one of the more difficult positions to evaluate.”

NFL DraftRound 1: April 27, 8 p.m. ET
Rds. 2-3: April 28, 7 p.m. ET
Rds. 4-7: April 29, noon ET
Where: Philadelphia

NFL draft home page »

• 2017 NFL draft order »
• Mel Kiper Jr.: Mock 2.0 »
• Todd McShay’s Top 32
• McShay: Top prospects by position
• Todd McShay: Mock 2.0 »
• Mel Kiper Jr.’s Big Board »
• Mel Kiper Jr.: Top 10 by position »
• Pro day schedule for prospects »
• Underclassmen who have declared »
• NFL draft player rankings »

Last year was a perfect example of the Saints’ discerning approach. They liked Jared Goff and might have considered him if he fell outside of the top five or 10 picks (which he didn’t, going No. 1 overall). But they weren’t as keen on Paxton Lynch, who was available when New Orleans picked at No. 12.

This year, the Saints have the No. 11 pick, and ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported they could potentially move up to No. 5 in one possible trade scenario with the Tennessee Titans for Brandin Cooks. So that could put them in a position to draft someone like Clemson’s national championship star Watson, North Carolina’s Trubisky, Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer or Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes.

But draft analysts are split on whether any of those QBs is a sure thing in the early part of Round 1. So the Saints will have to really be swayed to take the leap this year, particularly since they have more glaring needs on defense and still feel they have a chance to contend for the playoffs while Brees is still thriving.

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