FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – The New England Patriots wanted to put the tight end back in their offense when they made Daniel Graham their first-round draft pick in 2002.

But Graham never became the regular contributor he was expected to be during an injury-plagued rookie season.

Now, in his second camp, Graham appears to be living up to his potential.

“Graham’s had a really good camp,” coach Bill Belichick said. “He didn’t have a lot of participation in the passing camp and the minicamps, he was still limited a little bit from the offseason. But he was here and trained hard … and spent a lot of time with the coaches in the offseason, reviewing his play last year and the playbook and that kind of thing. So he really hit the ground running in training camp.”

Graham injured his right shoulder trying to make a diving catch late in the first half of a 21-14 loss to San Diego on Sept. 29, just when he felt he was ready to make a breakthrough. Instead, he missed the team’s next three games.

“I felt I was confident going into the San Diego game,” he said. “I felt like I’d be getting a little more playing time, and then the injury happened. That’s just part of football.

He put the down time to good use.

“That first year, I sat back and I learned a lot from Christian (Fauria),” Graham said. “I watched what he did to get open, and I studied him a lot. He was a big help to me last year, and this year, with the both of us being healthy, I think we can contribute a lot to help this offense.”

One of the noticeable changes this camp is Graham’s improved pass catching ability, Belichick said. “I think he’s gained some confidence in his catching,” Belichick said. “He’s not fighting the ball as much. He’s catching the ball with more softness in his hands … he’s dropped very few balls.”

Graham was the 21st overall selection in the 2002 draft out of Colorado, seven selections after the league’s top rookie tight end of a year ago, the Giants’ Jeremy Shockey. Graham’s 15 catches for 150 yards paled in comparison to Shockey’s 74 receptions for 894 yards, but Graham said there’s no rivalry between them.

“I don’t have any competition with him,” said Graham. “He’s a great player, but he can’t do anything to help the Patriots win. So I don’t worry about him too much. I just worry about myself.

Graham and Shockey will be opponents Thursday night when the Patriots and Giants open the preseason at Gillette Stadium.

“I want to come out here and show the coaches that I worked hard in the offseason,” Graham said. “My No. 1 goal is to challenge Christian for the starting job, to play well this season and to help the team wherever I can.”

AP-ES-08-03-03 1355EDT