Philadelphia Eagles: Brandon Graham has aged gracefully

On April 3rd, 1988, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham was born.

He played his high school ball in Detroit, Michigan, worked his way up to a five-star recruit, and accepted an offer to represent his state at its eponymously named university, spurning Michigan State in the process.

From there, Graham parlayed a successful four-year career, headlined by two straight double-digit seasons in 2008 and 2009, into a first-round draft grade and a spot atop the third-to-last draft class selected by Andy Reid.

Was it always pretty? No, BG received more than his fair share of hate earlier in this career and was almost traded a time or two, most notably in a proposed deal for Chip Kelly favorite Dion Jordan, but somehow, the 34-year-old has endured and become the longest-tenured athlete in the City of Brotherly Love. So, on this, the anniversary of Brandon Graham’s birth, why not take a look back at his time with the Philadelphia Eagles as he prepares for his 12th season in midnight green.

Brandon Graham has found a lifetime home with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Brandon Graham who took the field as a rookie isn’t the same Brandon Graham who strip-sacked Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, who made his first Pro Bowl in 2020, or who was helped off the field for the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2 of the 2021 NFL season.

For one thing, he didn’t wear his signature number 55 – which was owned by Stewart Bradley at the time – and instead took the field in a midnight green Reebok 54 jersey. He also wasn’t a full-time starter in any of his three seasons under Andy Reid at defensive end, or under Chip Kelly at 3-4 outside linebacker for that matter, either, instead having to wait until 2016 to record his first 16 start season under Jim Schwartz.

No, it took some time for Graham to go from a fan-labeled bust to a valuable rotation player to a fan favorite, and longer still for folks outside of the city to appreciate his unconventional game.

You see, Graham isn’t a flashy, double-digit sack guy. He wins with power and has a unique ability to attack opposing quarterbacks by collapsing the pocket around them. Mind you, he does get to the quarterback from time to time and actually surpassed the 10 sack mark in 2017 if you count the playoffs, but his money comes from recording pressures, which he’s recorded at a rate higher than any other player on the Eagles from 2016-20.

BG has also upped his proverbial stock by kicking it inside to play defensive tackle, where his power provides a nice change of pace that throws off interior rushers on obvious passing downs. This stylistic choice helped to pave the way for rushers like Milton Williams, who could have a massive role with the team as soon as this fall, and provided the Eagles with a different way to pressure opposing quarterbacks when it mattered most.

But most importantly of all, Graham’s biggest legacy in Philadelphia has to be his longevity, as he took a licking and never held it against the team, the city, or his fans… okay, except for the ones he blocked on Twitter. He accepted a new contract after almost signing with the New York Giants in 2015, re-signed again to a three-year, $40 million deal in 2019, and was always willing to restructure his deal to help Howie Roseman maximize the talent around him.

Even if Graham doesn’t close out his career in Philadelphia, he will forever be remembered as a member of the Eagles, but selfishly, I think most fans would hate to see BG wear anything but midnight green – or Kelly Green in 2023 – as just very few players make it to a second contract with the team that drafted them, let alone 12 uninterrupted years with the same organization.

So Brandon Graham, enjoy the last few hours of your birthday. Whether you play one, two, or ten more years in the NFL, your resistance as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles deserves to be celebrated right up there with your strip-sack of Tom Brady, which might just go down as the signature play in franchise history. Even if the Eagles win ten more Super Bowls, that single play will immortalize you in Philly lore forever.