Pete Carroll gushes over Jimmy Graham’s improvement

June 15, 2017

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Pete Carroll has always been known for being effusive in his praise, so when he gushes over a player, sometimes you have to take it with a grain of salt. But his comments from Seattle Seahawks minicamp about Jimmy Graham certainly stand out.

According to Pro Football Talk’s Curtis Crabtree, Carroll named Graham when asked about a player who has impressed him most this offseason.

“I think Jimmy’s offseason is a big highlight for us,” Carroll said, via PFT. “Last year at this time we didn’t know what he was going to be like. We were positive, but didn’t know. He had a phenomenal offseason and great work with us.”

Graham was acquired by the Seahawks in a trade prior to the 2015 season. He played in just 11 games that season and underwent surgery after injuring his knee. He spent last offseason recovering.

Carroll specifically cited Graham’s blocking as a part of his game that has improved.

“He’s become such a complete football player. Wait until you see him block again this year because he had a very, very good year in advancing his blocking skills and the demands that we placed on him he accepted and took to heart. You can just tell now his confidence level is in the clouds. He knows he can block guys. … He’s just totally grown in that area so he’s so much more of a complete player than maybe we thought he would become even. So he’s surprised us.”

Graham had 65 catches for 923 yards and six touchdowns last season. Those numbers are somewhat down from what he used to do when he was with the Saints, but Graham was a much bigger factor than he was in 2015. Perhaps he’ll continue his positive trend with Seattle.