This shows we should have drafted one of the highly rated TEs in round one because now we are thin at the position.

Note here is a link to his injury history:

https://www.draftsharks.com/fantasy/...my-graham/3450

No sign of head trauma reported

We are thin at kicker too, both kickers have made some errors, but it doesnt mean we should have drafted a kicker in the 1st round.

Here is a case where Graham probably had a concussion that didnt get reported:

https://www.sbnation.com/platform/am...orleans-saints

Even sub concussion hits add up. Soccer players who do more headers have more neurological problems later in life.

Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau are examples of a good way to develop the TE position. They were limited cost and have performed well in line with the average 1st round pick TE.

Point is you seemed to be saying TEs are more susceptible to head injuries than other positions and therefore should not be taken in the first round. I don’t think there is any evidence backing this up. Showing a clip of a play Graham maybe suffered a head injury doesn’t back that up. Junior Seau come to mind?

Broadly my opinion is TEs are very susceptible to lots of injuries from head to toe, they have to take a beating out over the middle, and unlike a LB they are not in control when the big collisions come. They tend to get hit in defenseless positions because they are not faster than the defenders so rather than hitting them in stride, the quarterback often puts the ball up high for them to get it, and they have to focus on coming down with the ball while the defenders focus on hitting them so hard they can't hold on. It was smart that we traded Jimmy Graham and got 1st round value for him. Its too bad the pick did not work out, but Unger was great. If you look back at TE drafted in the 1st round, there are maybe 1-2 stars per decade, and just tons of busts, or guys who flash, get paid, and break down. Meanwhile some random 3rd round TE meat head will somehow make the HOF. Its just too unpredictable to waste big resources. You never know who will somehow hold up, avoid the bigger hits, and still be able to go out over the middle without blinking.

If I were to compare the TE and RB positions, I would say both tend to have a lot of trouble sustaining greatness as they approach 30, but there might be more running backs who have managed it, and more RBs who manage it before 30 too. Guys like Tony Gonzalez, Gronk, and Kelce are the rare exception, but RB had guys like Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk, Curtis Martin, and Adrian Peterson. TE is just a more hyped position in the NFL right now because the two most durably successful TE of our era, Gronk and Kelce, happened to play with the two most clutch playoff QBs, Brady and Maholmes. I agree with not investing too much in RB but I think I think TE is the same deal. Imagine if instead of Gronk and Kelce, Brady and Maholmes happened to be paired with durable running backs in the type of Smith, Sanders, Faulk, Martin, or Peterson? They would win a bunch of rings and people would just ignore all the other RBs becoming totally ineffective at 27 and say drafting a RB in the 1st Round and paying them big as free agents is going to win it all for them.

Here is an article that has study info related to player injuries. Among their findings:

https://deltapawprint.com/1546/sport...l-by-position/

A line from the article states:
“Tight ends have both the risks of a wide receiver and offensive lineman, however, they aren’t doing both catching and blocking every play. They have a smaller chance of injury than offensive linemen and Wide Receivers.”

WRs and LBs were the most injured positions. TEs seem to be much lower risk. Avoiding them as early picks due to injury has little statistical backup.

Give up. Bako is going to continue to blame everything on the Saints front office. Fact or logic matters not.

Give up. Bako is going to continue to blame everything on the Saints front office. Fact or logic matters not.