Jimmy Graham could soon set the franchise record for touchdowns by a tight end

On Sunday morning, the internet and Twitter were ablaze with reports that the Seattle Seahawks would be willing to entertain trade offers for Jimmy Graham in order to free up cap space to potentially add a veteran tackle, but these reports were quickly rebuffed by both Pete Carroll and John Schneider.

Graham then went out and had a two-TD game against the Houston Texans, which gives him four for the season and 12 for his Seahawks career.

While those numbers are far below the expectations of many fans - many of whom were certain that the team had added a TD machine when they acquired Graham in the spring of 2015 - Graham is in position to potentially take over as the franchise’s all-time TD reception leader among TEs before the end of the season.

His 12 receiving TDs since arriving in Seattle currently has him fourth all-time in team history, poised to move into a three way tie for second with Itula Mili and John Carlson on his next scoring reception. Just three more trips into the end zone will put him into a tie for first all-time in team history with Jerramy Stevens.

Now, no one is claiming that the Hawks have a history of great play from the tight end play, but the simple fact that just 34 games into his Seattle career Graham is poised to become the top scoring TE threat is an argument that he is being used just fine.

Especially in crucial moments:

It’s entirely possible that Graham does not get the record for a number of reasons, whether that be poor play by the offense, an injury or something else unforeseen, but hopefully he does if for no other reason that the team will be able to say that Stevens is no longer the career TD leader.

In any case, the simple fact of the matter is that he is within striking distance of setting the franchise record for TD receptions for his position, so much of the criticism of his play may be misplaced or misdirected.