The Facts:
Fauria turned out to be a terrific after-the-draft find for the Lions and is he's expected to play an important role in new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi's system. Lombardi says he's brought the Saints playbook with him to Detroit and that's something that immediately got the attention of Fauria last week. "I'm fully aware of what that means and I do know who Jimmy Graham is," Fauria said in a phone interview with detroitlions.com. "I have a similar background to (Graham) with basketball and similar height and the way we play. I'm not calling myself Jimmy Graham, but I strive to have the kind of production he has. I think I can contribute very similarly to how he has with the Saints."
Reported by DetroitLions.com
Fantasy Football Diehards Line:
That's a lofty goal for Fauria heading into his second season. Fauria made quite the splash during his rookie season for the Lions in 2013. The undrafted free agent tight end out of UCLA was second on the team behind Calvin Johnson (12) with seven touchdown catches. He was an important red zone target for the Lions last year, but the next development in his game is to be more of a factor over the other 80 yards of the football field. He finished the year catching 18 passes for 207 yards with those seven touchdowns. He clearly has a long way to go if he wants to catch up with Graham, who had 86 receptions for 1,215 yards and 16 touchdowns this past season, his fourth in the league. As a rookie in 2010, Graham had 31 catches for 356 yards and five touchdowns. Still, Fauria's role could increase exponentially if the Lions and free agent TE Brandon Pettigrew don't come to an agreement on a new contract. No matter what happens with Pettigrew, or if the team drafts another tight end, Fauria is expecting to play a bigger part in the offense in 2014.
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