Feb. 11, 2026, 2:44 p.m. CT

It’s been a big couple of weeks for Drew Brees. The all-time great New Orleans Saints quarterback was selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot, putting him at the center of attention at last week’s NFL Honors ceremony leading up to Super Bowl LX. Brees sat down with Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce on the New Heights podcast to reflect on his experience and NFL career, and he took some time to shout out some of his old teammates.

One of them was Jimmy Graham. For his part, the younger Kelce said Graham was someone who has “never gotten the true respect that he deserves at the tight end position. I want to give Jimmy some love because what he’s done to change the game isn’t talked about enough.”

Graham was right there with Rob Gronkowski in 2011 as the two best tight ends in football, and it came down to the final week of the regular season to determine who would finish with more yards. They went into Week 17 with Graham trailing Gronkowski by six yards. By the end of the afternoon Gronkowski held onto his lead by just 17 yards. If Graham had spent his entire career with Brees in New Orleans, where he caught more passes in six years (392) for more yards (4,791) and more touchdowns (55) than his next seven years put together (327 catches for 3,754 yards and 34 touchdowns), maybe he’s joining Gronkowski as a betting favorite to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer just like Brees.

Either way, Kelce gave Graham major props for paving the way at tight end. Graham’s story as a college basketball player-turned-NFL receiving threat is well established, but seeing him break out when Kelce was beginning to find his way on the Cincinnati Bearcats was inspiring for the younger player. Since then Kelce has established himself as one of the game’s most dynamic weapons with 11 consecutive Pro Bowl appearances and seven placements on the All-Pro teams (four of them being first-team honors). Kelce probably wouldn’t have had less success in the NFL if Graham hadn’t burst onto the scene. But showing what pass-catchers could do at the tight end position had to have opened doors for Kelce which may have remained shut.

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