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Philadelphia Eagles: Could Brandon Graham be a free agent steal?

By Kevin Parvizi

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Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Brandon Graham has been one of the most underrated pass rushers in the game over the past few seasons, and he has a chance to make some serious bank this offseason if the Eagles aren’t able to wrangle him away from the open waters before the new league year begins in March. Graham’s career sack totals, including last year’s 5.5 mark, are modest, to say the least, but most people are aware that the sacks don’t tell the whole story with Graham.

Let’s just take a look at what the former first-round pick out of Michigan did in his contract year, because he was brilliant. Statistically, he had his best season, tying his career-high in sacks, recording a career-best 46 tackles, and notching a personal-best four fumbles forced to provide some big plays for the Eagles steadily improving defense.

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He’s shown that he can play well as either a 4-3 defensive end or 3-4 outside linebacker, and while he prefers the 4-3 scheme, Graham did play his best season in the 3-4. That said, his 2014 season may have had to do more with his development than his position, but he did show up well as an OLB in limited snaps in 2013.

The Eagles finally broke Graham loose last year, bumping up his snaps by about 200 (as per Pro Football Focus), and it definitely paid off. He was quietly one of their most explosive players on defense, and while Connor Barwin had the sacks, the quick Graham unsurprisingly tallied pressure on a more consistent basis.

Consider that while Barwin had 12 more QB hits, Graham was actually first among all 3-4 outside linebacker in PFF’s Pass Rushing Productivity, which measures the efficiency of a pass rusher while weighing sacks and QB hits more heavily. Barwin clearly did a terrific job of getting after the passer in a career-best 2014 campaign, as he was sixth in PFF’s PRP. Graham was first if you extend the list of qualifiers to those who have played 25% of pass rushing snaps, and that tells me that Graham could blossom into a household name if he receives more snaps on a new team.

The Eagles priority this offseason will be to re-sign Jeremy Maclin, who was the team’s most important player in 2014 and showed that he is a true No. 1 receiver, memorably owning Patrick Peterson at one point. Howie Roseman, Chip Kelly, and the front office will do whatever it takes to keep the top weapon on the squad, but I wonder how much money they’re willing to spend on Graham, whose scheme versatility will definitely boost his list of suitors, likely making him more interested in the idea of testing the market.

Set to turn 27 in April, Brandon Graham is nearing the prime of his career, and he knows that this is his best chance at getting a big payday, especially since he put in some major work in his contract year and is a pass rusher based on explosiveness. Graham would be a high-upside add for any team looking to add a pass rusher, and he’s shown that he can consistently make things happen and is also an above-average run defender.

If the Eagles use the franchise tag, it would definitely be on Maclin, so there’s a good chance Graham can join a new squad this offseason, where he would likely receive significantly more playing time without having to worry about both Trent Cole and Barwin. But now that I’ve mentioned Cole, it’s time to delve into a scenario that Rotoworld recently explored.

What if the Eagles cut Cole?

Per Rotoworld, the veteran pass rusher, who has been a phenomenal player for the Eagles in either scheme throughout his career with the team, is set to cost over $11 million agains the cap. Even for someone who has played at a high level in back-to-back seasons, that number is far too high. Cole, 32, has shown no signs of decline to this point in his career, but the fact of the matter is that he isn’t as good as either Barwin or Graham, and the only thing he has on those two is reliability due to his many years of playing well.

It’s possible that the Philadelphia Eagles could part ways with Cole in order to free up more money to keep Graham around this offseason, because Graham has that much potential. Remember, he was first among all 3-4 OLBs in PFF’s Pass Rushing Productivity, and that should tell you something about how underrated he is. The Eagles stated goal on defense is to disrupt the passing game with pressure, as they look for sacks as a bonus. This is how most teams evaluate pass rushers, and it’s what makes Graham such a great impending free agent.

Oct 26, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Brandon Graham (55) celebrates a play against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Eagles 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Graham probably won’t be a “steal” if he hits the open market, but it is worth noting that so many teams slept on him that nobody wanted to trade him after the Eagles actively spent time trying to deal him before the final year of his contract; Graham used to be the odd-man-out in the Eagles OLB logjam. At not point did he become a true starter on the Eagles defense, but it’s clear that they noticed how well he played.

With Cole potentially becoming too expensive to keep, the Eagles could give Graham a big offer in the hopes of keeping him off of the free agent market, and I’d rather pay a soon-to-be 27-year-old OLB with high upside than pay more to a safe pass rusher who is 32. Graham was better last season despite taking about 300 less snaps, as he had just two less QB hits than Cole…and that’s not even mentioning the more accurate “pressures”.

Of course, the issue with Graham is the fact that giving him more snaps will decrease the efficiency of the pressure he puts on the quarterback, and teams should be wary of that red flag.

Why don’t the Eagles make him a full-time starter at OLB if he’s performing so well? It’s probably because that’s not his fit. Graham will try to find a team willing to give him those snaps, and there’s always a chance he succeeds in a much bigger role, so that can’t be ruled out.

If Graham decides that he’s fine with a 3-4 scheme and feels he’s better in his current role (I doubt it), then he could decide to stay in Philly no matter what happens to Cole.

Given his usage, it’s hard to judge how well he will do in a bigger role, but he took on the increase in snaps quite well this past season. The Eagles showed interest in re-signing Graham as early as a couple of months ago, so he played so well in 2014 that they changed their tune from “trade for value” to “be proactive in re-signing this guy”.

Next: 5 Free Agents for Eagles to target

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