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NFL History: 25 greatest quarterback-tight end duos of all time

By Jaleel Grandberry

Sep 9, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) celebrate after a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 9, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) celebrate after a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jimmy Graham Drew Brees New Orleans Saints
Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints celebrates with Drew Brees (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

The 13th greatest quarterback-tight end duo in NFL history: Drew Brees & Jimmy Graham

Drew Brees, the former New Orleans Saint, is one of the greatest quarterbacks of this past era. Throughout his time with the Saints, he set all type of passing records. In 2009, he led New Orleans to a Super Bowl victory. To reward him, the Saints took a gamble on a former basketball player and gifted Brees one of the most dynamic teammates of his career.

That teammate was Jimmy Graham, joining the Saints in 2010 with only one year of football experience. After a rookie season that saw Graham still learning the game behind veteran Jeremy Shockey, Graham exploded in his second year. He caught 99 passes for 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns.

It was clear that Brees had a new favorite target. Turns out, Graham’s four years of college basketball did wonders for his transition to football. He made himself an easy target by boxing defenders out and exploding up to get any ball Brees threw.

Proving himself to be dependable, the accurate Brees frequently connected with him over their five seasons together. In just 78 games, they connected 386 times for 4,752 yards and 51 touchdowns. Brees made the Pro bowl every year of their five seasons together, with Graham joining him three times.

Unfortunately, the duo was unable to bring New Orleans another Super Bowl as they suffered consecutive playoff heartbreaks. They did bring a ton of excitement though before Graham was traded away.

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