Should New Orleans Saints sign Jermaine Gresham?

By Kevin Parvizi | Jun 4, 2015

The New Orleans Saints have taken the opportunity to hype up young tight end Josh Hill at every possible turn this offseason, as they are clearly high on him as the heir apparent to Jimmy Graham, who was traded to the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason with a first-round pick (linebacker Stephone Anthony) and star center Max Unger heading Sean Payton‘s way, in the passing game. With only Benjamin Watson as a known commodity behind Hill (it’s hard to count on Orson Charles and two rookies), it makes sense for the Saints to look into another veteran option.

That’s exactly what they have decided to do, as FOX Sports’s Mike Garafolo reported that Jermaine Gresham visited with the Saints yesterday. It’s interesting to see that Gresham, who is the top available free agent tight end, is visiting with the team several months after the Graham trade, so the somewhat late interest in the former first-round Oklahoma product is worth keeping in mind.

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I’m actually surprised that Gresham, given the value of tight ends around the league, has been on the open market for this long, because he’s an underrated player. He’s also been the subject of unfair criticism, including from the Bengals organization itself, which seems exaggerated from my perspective.

Now, I’m not privy to information within locker rooms or anything like that, but how is a tight end who spent 519 snaps blocking compared to 381 snaps running routes lazy? Gresham was branded as a pass-catching tight end with the athletic tools to become an All-Pro before he was drafted, and while he’s never going to make good on his potential in the passing game, he’s at least quietly turned himself into a plus pass protector and a valuable role player as a No. 2 tight end.

Maybe it’s not my place to defend Gresham’s effort, but I find it hard to believe that somebody who stayed in to block on 109 of his pass play last season, per Pro Football Focus, is mailing it in or difficult to trust.

Gresham can still bring value to the table for a team, but he has to be strictly used as a backup. Before Cincinnati scaled back his role as a receiver in 2014, Gresham was easily one of the NFL’s most inconsistent pass-catching tight ends, and he was probably more known for his drops than for his athletic ability.

On the bright side, he did catch 62 passes with Tyler Eifert out last year, and while he averaged a career-low 7.4 yards per reception, his role fell in line with what the Bengals asked of him. They made him into a ho-hum blocking TE and safety valve in the passing game, befitting of his veteran status as a player who is closing in on 27 (he’s actually younger than I thought).

Perhaps if the New Orleans Saints sign him, they can get more out of Gresham’s once-touted athletic gifts, though he would merely enter the picture as a challenger to Watson for TE2 snaps. The Saints can run twin-TE sets with Hill and Gresham/Watson having very different roles, and Gresham would most likely be a notable upgrade over the former New England Patriots TE as the blocker/safety valve for Drew Brees.

Since Gresham has only received known interest from the Arizona Cardinals and Bengals (though I’m sure the latter franchise wasn’t too interested), he will likely come on the cheap, and there’s no doubt that he can only accept a one-year, prove-it deal.

Nov 23, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans defensive end

J.J. Watt

(99) performs a swim move against Cincinnati Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham (84) at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

But that makes him a bargain, because I view Jermaine Gresham as a versatile tight end capable of playing as the “F” or “Y” in the Saints offense (he’d be set to compete for the “Y” spot with Watson, as Hill is locked in as the starting “F”) due to his ability to block and catch passes.

He even has some upside under Payton and with Brees throwing him passes, so it could be a good opportunity for him.

I do wonder if the rival Atlanta Falcons are interested in acquiring his services, because it’s hard to trust the injury-prone Tony Moeaki to contribute in 2015.

The Falcons other TEs of note are Jacob Tamme and Levine Toilolo, so they could also use a guy like Gresham, who could play a key role as a two-way TE in tandem with Tamme.

First, we’ll have to see exactly how much interest the Saints have in signing Gresham, but on the surface, a move to sign him would make sense.

They could use another capable body at the position, and I think he has more to offer this team than some think. He played significantly better for the Bengals last year than in the 2012 and 2013 seasons, though the caveat here is that he played poorly in 2012 and 2013.

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