National Football League

Brandon Graham cracks PFF's Top 101 list at No. 74 overall

Published May. 15, 2015 2:41 p.m. ET

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Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Brandon Graham nearly left in free agency this offseason. The division rival New York Giants were hot in pursuit of Graham, but in the end he re-signed with the Eagles on a four-year, $26 million contract. Graham must have seen the writing on the wall with Trent Cole leaving in free agency. Graham was highly productive on a per snap basis in 2014, but he didn't receive a large share of snaps with Cole and Connor Barwin on the roster.

The Eagles and Giants weren't the only people who stood impressed by what Graham put out on tape in 2014. The game charters and graders at Pro Football Focus, who break down every single play by every single player, ranked Graham as the 74th best player overall on their 2014 top 101 rankings.

They had this to say about Graham's 2014 season.

Imagine where Graham might have got to if he had played more than 524 snaps? That was really the only thing holding back a man who finished with the fourth-highest grade of all 3-4 outside linebackers who was especially productive rushing the passer. We’re excited to see what he can do with a path to more snaps in 2015, because if he maintains his 2014 work over a larger sample size watch out the top of the list.

Best Performance: Week 1, JAX @ PHI, +3.5

Key Stat: His 17.0 Pass Rushing Productivity score was the best in the league.

As mentioned above, Graham will assume a much larger role in 2015. Cole is gone, and the Eagles did not invest in any first or second day draft picks on an outside linebacker.

(h/t Pro Football Focus)

Photo Credit: Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports