Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks: 5 matchups to watch

5. Jimmy Graham vs whoever guards him

Jimmy Graham spent the last three seasons in Seattle doing his usual damage in the red zone, and he’ll be looking to do more of that this week. The Packers could use that from him, because, when he and Aaron Rodgers are connected, they give the offense an element that they sorely lack far too often. On a couple of occasions, the Packers have made an effort early to feature Graham, but they don’t stick with it for very long.

After safety Earl Thomas went down with an injury, the Legion of Boom was officially no more. In his stead is Tedric Thompson, who has improved since last season, but he is still nowhere near the player that Thomas is. Thompson has been decent in coverage this season, but Graham presents an incredible mismatch no matter who is on him, as long as he gets the ball.

In the games where Graham has seen at least eight targets, he has gotten at least 76 yards in each game. Even against the New England Patriots, Graham was a major threat early in the game, but he didn’t see any targets down the stretch of that game. On an offense with so many weapons, Graham isn’t going to see the targets he saw in New Orleans, but Rodgers and the offense would be wise to get him involved early.