Daniel Graham,

[patman]

I watched him closely in last night's game. I'm in a few keeper leagues so I'm really interested in how he plays. These are my observations...

1. Fauria still had a lot of PT, but on passing plays they kept him in to block while Graham was out in pattern. I saw this quite a few times and twice when the Pats were in the Red Zone.

2. Graham had a costly drop in the fourth quarter on a crossing route that would have netted him another 20 yards. The drop didn't change how Graham was used in the final drive. Even though he didn't catch a pass, he was out in pattern.

3. Graham ran a decent number of deep routes. I saw him 20ish yards down the field on several occasions. Obviously, Brady looked for him in the endzone and that is a very good sign. If Graham can continue to get the looks in their standard set AND take Fauria's above average TDs he could be a high scorer.

4. Belicheck used Graham as a fullback in motion on several occasions. For last night's game he only lead blocked but I can foresee some play-action to him out of that formation.

5. Graham is a very good runner after the catch, powerful but couldn't quite break free for the big gainer last night.

Sorry if it's not of too much interest to some, but those in keeper league may be interested. I think his stock will continue to rise and with the Pats on bye this week you can probably get him off the wire pretty easily.

[cwebb]

Thanks a lot for the insights, I often forget to "scout" single players as I tend to just enjoy the game and watching the ball.

And yes, Graham will be a good keeper league TE, not as good as Shockey, Heap or Gonzo maybe but good upside and playing in a good system.

[NFLknowitall]

Graham was the Pat's #1 draft pick two years ago. Injured a lot his rookie season. He is now starting to show his skills. He is a true playmaker and was great at Colorado. He should be a top 5 TE by the end of next year. Good Job scouting.

[JimmyChoi]

I actually picked up Graham and traded Sharpe, only because I needed some WR depth badly......so far he has been performing for me...took a gamble and I haven't been bit that hard yet...