The Rise of Jimmy Graham

An Exclusive interview with Foster Focus Editor Chris Chmielewski at New Orleans Saints Training Camp.

*Special thanks to the New Orleans Saints and their Media Department for all the kindness. ~Chris

Fear is not an option in the NFL. It has no place in a league full of exaggerated size and strength. There is nowhere for fear to live in a workplace where an opponents’ sole purpose for being on the field is to incapacitate you. There is no room for fear in the NFL.

For 16 Sundays through the fall and winter Jimmy Graham checks his fear in the Superdome parking lot, enters a building that has stood tall through the fear of a nation. He dawns the uniform of a champion further covering up any traces of remaining fear. The welcoming smile that usually covers his face is long gone.

Through pre-game warm ups he is focused, paying attention to detail. He runs hard, catches the ball with purpose and plays and replays game scenarios in his  mind. When the stadium lights go on, the music starts to play, energy grows to a fever pitch and the opening kickoff sails just under the white roof of the done. Any fear is gone.

Fearless is the best description for an NFL Tight End. As a top Tight End in a league full of game changers at the position, Jimmy Graham is asked to retain 350 lb. monsters from hitting QB Drew Brees. He is asked to run across the middle of the field and pluck bullet fast passes from the air while being sandwiched between head hunting defensive backs. He is asked to score the touchdowns that might allow the New Orleans Saints to have a home game for the Super Bowl. The goal post dunks after TD's are a bonus Jimmy gives to the fans.

Last year Graham led all tight ends in receptions with 99, went to the Pro Bowl and is a thorn in the sides of defensive coordinators across the League.

This is how Jimmy Graham spends his Sundays now, fearless. He is a hero to thousands of kids and a must have in fantasy football leagues nationwide. But that wasn't how it started. There was a time when fear was a daily companion.

Jimmy Graham spent the early part of his life in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Born into a lower middle class home owned and operated by a very young and very scared single mother who often unloaded the young boy on family members. Years of struggling to make ends meet led to the most pivotal and fear filled moment of Jimmy Graham's life.

Graham's mother was looking for a way out. A custody arrangement was made with Jimmy’s ex-stepfather as guardian. The only stumbling block was the matter of a mere $98.00 per month from Jimmy’s mother. Jimmy’s stepfather wanted it; his mother wasn’t willing to pay it.  The solution as they saw it was to drop a young 9 year old boy off on the stairwell of Social Services. Fear.

His mother would bring him home for a few years, until one morning she told Jimmy they were going for a ride. What started off as a seemingly harmless ride quickly changed tone. “She stopped the car and told me to get out, I had no idea what was going on.” Fear.

With his sister crying in the car he was led into his new home; a group home for orphans and troubled youth. An unfortunate placement of circumstance for a fragile young man. As he sat through his mother signing Jimmy over to the state, the gravity of what was happening began to reveal itself to the young boy, now alone. Fear.

"She just left me there," said Graham while speaking to Foster Focus at New Orleans Saints training camp. "I was small and scared. My mom had left me in a kid jail, basically.”

So at age 11 Jimmy once again was given away. This time he found himself among much older boys, much colder boys, boys who had given up. “There were violent offenders, thieves and deviants I was NOT supposed to be there. I was a normal, polite kid I had to figure out how to get along there.”

On one forgettable afternoon, Jimmy was left alone in a van with five of the other residents. What happened next would result in a bed ridden Graham recovering for three days. The boys had decided that the much smaller boy would be a sufficient punching bag as they took turns beating on him. Swollen eyes matched with bruises would be a reminder of Jimmy’s vulnerability in his new environment. He begged his mother to bring him home, that the environment was just too much for a boy that small to take. He was met with a dial tone. Fear.

After nine intense months at the home Jimmy’s mother finally brought him home. The abuse continued, this time at the hands of a new boyfriend. Fear.

He would seek refuge in a weekly prayer group that offered free food. A few months of interaction with Jimmy led Becky Vinson, a volunteer, to take a special interest in the bright young boy. As time went on Jimmy and Vinson formed a bond which allowed Jimmy to open up about his problems at home and his fear of returning to a group home.

It was all the young nursing student and mother to her own young daughter needed to begin feeling like Jimmy needed a family that wanted him too. Over time the  subject of Jimmy becoming a member of the small Vinson family began to take shape. When he was finally adopted Jimmy’s emotional circumstances had changed drastically. Through hard work on the part of Becky Vinson, Jimmy’s financial and living circumstances changed as well. While going to nursing school the Vinson family did have to live in a trailer where heat was a luxury. They were so happy to be a family the 3 simply layered up and weathered the hard times. “With Becky and Karina I finally had a family.”

With his life starting to take shape, Jimmy began to take school and sports much more seriously, improving his grades to As and Bs, becoming the focal point of the basketball team and a joy to be around. Says Vinson of her son, “I’m a better person because Jimmy Graham is my kid.”

People started to notice.

Specifically the people at the famed University of Miami. A gifted basketball player, Graham did well for himself while he was a Hurricane. Late in his Junior season, Bernie Kosar, the famed University of Miami and NFL quarterback saw something in Graham and encouraged him to play for the school's football team. 

After some coaching and training with Kosar, Jimmy found himself on the field at Miami as a tight end for one of the most recognized football programs in the country. Though only catching 17 passes in his 13 games during his Senior year at Miami, he showed a knack for finding the endzone. His 5 touchdowns were enough to catch the eye of several NFL scouts.

In 2010, at the  NFL draft Jimmy sat in wait during the first two rounds as countless NFL draft rooms across the country plotted their next moves. In the third round with the 95th pick of the draft, Jimmy was again at the mercy of others to decide his new home.

The New Orleans Saints, who too had known the feeling of not having a home, chose Graham to be a part of one of the most electric offenses in all of football.

Jimmy wasted no time becoming a friend teammate and family member in his new home. He quickly became a locker room favorite. His first year in the league was spent learning the fast paced offense and gaining his timing with quarterback Drew Brees. He caught 31 passes for 356 yards with 5 touchdowns. More importantly Graham showed he could be a proficient blocker which would translate to more time on the field, leading to more chances to make an impact.

In 2011, with a year under his belt, Jimmy exploded onto the national scene. His league best 99 receptions catapulted him on to the radar of every NFL Defensive Coordinator and a nightmare for defensive backs the league over.

At 6 foot 7 inches and 265 pounds Graham is much larger than most cornerbacks and safeties. Combine that with his blazing speed gained from years on the basketball court and he’s too much for any linebacker to keep up with. The result was 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Jimmy Graham finds himself as one of the top tight ends in a league that continues to find new ways to utilize the elite players at that position. In New Orleans he has found a home, the city that was in need of heroes has found one in a quiet likeable kid who almost got lost on his way to stardom. They relate to his path and his “no quit” attitude. They share a survivor's mentality that most people cannot understand. He has reached out to the Louisiana BoysTown to give back to local kids in the system, further endearing himself to the people of the Big Easy

Jimmy has been running his whole life. Running to gain approval from an absent mother. Running to prove his worth to the family that opened their arms for him. Running to stay out of the system. And running to become a better person. But he doesn’t run from fear. Fear has no place in the life of Jimmy Graham a boy once given away for ninety eight dollars.