Why the Philadelphia Eagles need to pay Brandon Graham

Brandon Graham is good and deserves some more cash money.

You know that Brandon Graham guy who plays defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles? Yeah, well, he’s pretty good at football. And for this exact reason, he isn’t all that pumped about his current contract situation.

Graham is scheduled to make just $7.5 million in 2017. For an average, talentless person such as myself, that’s quite a nice salary. But for an All-Pro defensive end who was ranked by Pro Football Focus as the ninth-best player in the entire NFL last season, it’s a little substandard.

Graham is currently the 15th highest-paid 4-3 defensive end in the league, according to OverTheCap.com. Fellow Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry, who recorded just 2.5 sacks last season, is the sixth highest-paid.

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Something about that doesn’t seem right.

Understandably, Graham is reportedly considering a holdout in hopes of getting a new contract from the Eagles. And after the incredible season he had in 2016, they’d be crazy not to fork over the dough.

Graham isn’t much of a hotshot on the stat sheet. He registered just 5.5 sacks last season—one sack shy of his career-high. But sacks aren’t what make Brandon Graham such an impactful football player. It’s, well, everything else.

Few defensive players are as good as Graham at disrupting plays and infiltrating opposing offenses. Not only is he effective as a pass rusher (he pressured opposing quarterbacks 83 times in 2016), but he’s also extremely stingy against the run. His presence alone is enough to make his teammates better, which we are about to take an in-depth look at right now.

To the GIFs!

Here, we get a look at what makes Graham so special against the run. After exploding off the line of scrimmage, Graham flies in between two blockers and forces Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell to just give up on the play, resulting in a huge loss and forcing a third and long situation.

Graham’s instincts and nose for the football are major components to his game and he makes that evident here.

On this play, you’ll see Graham (right side of your screen) blow past his blocker and force Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to step up in the pocket. Unfortunately for Ryan, he runs right into the arms of Connor Barwin for a sack.

This sack obviously wasn’t credited to Graham, but it also doesn’t happen without his quick get-off and ability to bend around his man. This is textbook.

Ah, yes. Our old friend Sam Bradford. Unfortunately, the Eagles weren’t able to take Bradford down here, but Graham did force him to make a bad throw (albeit a regular occurrence from Bradford). Graham, this time on the left side of your screen, shrugs off a chip from tight end Kyle Rudolph and bulls his way into Bradford’s grill. Once Graham gets too close for comfort, Bradford is forced to throw the ball to his well-covered receiver, resulting in an incomplete pass.

Once again, Graham shows off his impressive pass rushing prowess. This time, however, he uses a more physical tactic as opposed to the finesse move he displayed previously. He’s no one-trick pony, this guy.

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For a team lacking in the secondary, a player like Graham is doubly important. With opposing quarterbacks constantly under pressure, it minimizes the amount of shots they can take downfield. It’s very likely that Jalen Mills, Patrick Robinson and Ron Brooks could be the Eagles’ top cornerbacks next season. If that ends up being the case, Philadelphia might need the pass rush to bail them out. A lot.

While Graham is 29 years old and past his physical prime, his stock continues to rise. The Eagles have one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL and Graham plays a huge role in the unit’s success. For the team’s own good, even if Graham isn’t actually thinking of holding out, giving him a pay raise would be well worth it for the Eagles.

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