Best Value In the NFL? Jimmy Graham
 

He remains under contract through 2013. Perhaps more than any other player in the NFL, Graham has outperformed his contract and that generally leads to a new deal.

In 2011, only his second year in the NFL, Graham had one of the best seasons ever by a tight end. He caught 99 passes for 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s 25 and he’s only going to get better.

When you look at Graham’s production and potential, it’s easy to make a case he’s the NFL’s most underpaid tight end. Heck, he might be the most underpaid player in the NFL, period.

Graham’s still playing on his rookie contract, which was standard for the third-round pick he was in 2010. But he’s scheduled to make only $540,000 in 2012 and $575,000 in 2013.

Full article.
Best value in NFL? Jimmy Graham - NFC South Blog - ESPN

His production outways his pay by far. He continues to be this good he will get a very nice contract. I wish I could say the same thing about some players on the D side, 4 are over paid for their lack of production, seems to me someone's priorities need to change.

Jimmy is the man. He will get paid for it to. Yes it's too bad its like that on the d side.
lets hope this yr will bring a nice change on that side of the ball.

Somebody get Bob Sugar on the phone....lol

Pretty soon they will have to pay him more money or he will hold out. He's not going to play for that. He's very underpaid. You prove it on the field. And he has. He wouldn't go as late as he was picked if you did the draft over again. That's for sure.

Another reason to seriously think about how much to pay Colston. Jimmy will be the highest paid TE in the NFL in 2 years.

I'd hate for that to be with some another team because we have so much money tied up in Colston.

People are now somewhat getting my point. On the other hand how much longer do you think our "window" with Brees and the current roster will be open?

Well if everytime a decent player comes up for contract renewal and we have the ridiculous "pay the man" mentality it won't be very long.

I have a pretty good feeling this years rookie class is going to have superstar in it as well . Here is the last 6 years draft picks who have made an impact on the team in one way or another:
2011:
Mark Ingram, Cam Jordan
2010:
Charles Brown, Jimmy Graham, Patrick Robinson
2009:
Malcolm Jenkins, Thomas Morstead
2008:
Sedrick Ellis. Tracy Porter, Carl Nicks
2007:
Robert Meachem, Jermon Bushrod
2006:
Roman Harper, Jahri Evans, Marques Colston
March 14 2006- The Saints agreed to terms with former San Diego Chargers QB Drew Brees to a five-year contract
Jan. 18 2006- Sean Payton was named as the 14th head coach in club history
This history suggests that we will have 3 standout rookies this year based solely on statistics. Each year we have had atleast one standout player though. I wonder who it will be this year? Donnie Fletcher, Mychal Kendricks, Jack Crawford, Andrew Datko, Michael Brewster, Tyler Nielsen.
2012 NFL Draft: 6 Late-Round Picks New Orleans Saints Should Target | Bleacher Report

Wow, I never would have thought Graham was making that kind of money, but after looking at his rookie stats, I see it. But what a breakout year his sophomore season, eh? Now he looks like the biggest sleeper find in the league. He deserves any contract re-negotiation he can get.

I think I brought this up in one of the MANY Nicks Colston Threads.....

2012 NFL Draft: 6 Late-Round Picks New Orleans Saints Should Target | Bleacher Report

Funny how Colston isn't mentioned in this...

With this many free agents we may have a tough time trying to renegotiate his contract this season.

This is a good point; but part of the reason why Graham has been so effective is because of the synergy of BOTH he and Colston...

I'd hate to lose Nicks, but that will be alot of money tied up in Guards if Nicks becomes the highest paid guard in the NFL...

But we value guards more than tackles, so I prefer to think of it as having a lot of money tied up in the 2 best O-linemen in the NFL. I don't have a problem with that just because they play OG.

The Saints have a reputation of taking care of their players. The players know this. Jimmy had one great year and we're all thinking, hoping and praying he keeps it up. This year we have some pressing contracts that need taking care of. We all know who they are, Brees, Nicks and Colston. Plus we're going to need some space to sign a couple FA's and our draft picks so that we can position the team to win at least a couple more Championships. I think JG knows this and wants to be a part of a team that wins a couple rings.

The cap will increase next year, and if JG has another stellar season, after the smoke clears, I think you'll see JG with a very nice contract extension. I'm not worried about it and I don't think he is either. JG came up the hard way and has a good head on his shoulders and with the mentoring I believe he's getting from Drew, he's going to set himself up for life and he just may retire when Drew does. He'll be able to after the Saints extend his contract after the 2012 season. Pat's just trying to stir the pot.