PHILADELPHIA --It was easy for Eagles linebacker Brandon Graham to walk around with a massive chip on his shoulder through the first five seasons of his career.

After all, the Eagles moved up in the draft in 2010 to select him over the likes of Jason Pierre-Paul and Earl Thomas who both have Super Bowl rings and multiple Pro Bowl trips already under their belts.

However, coming off the best statistical season of his career and with a new contract in tow signifying his role as a staring outside linebacker on this defense, few would blame Graham of his hunger waned just a bit from what has driven him since that draft night six years ago.

However, those expecting the Michigan product to find comfort in his newly found job security are going to be sorely disappointed.

"I'm still going to have that mentality," Graham said following Monday's OTA practice at the Novacare Complex. "Because, now I finally get my opportunity that I've been waiting on. But, I still have that chip on my shoulder. Now, I can't wait to get out there on 80 to 90 percent of the plays and see what happens after that."

Graham finished 2014 with 5.5 sacks to go with 46 tackles and four fumbles -- along with an increased presence as a leader in the locker room on a defense that was powered by the play of it's front seven and propensity for getting to the quarterback.

Those strong numbers were well timed for Graham as he entered free agency for the first time in his career. Given that he was selected by the previous regime and there are now just 14 holdovers chosen by Andy Reid, a return for Graham was far from a foregone conclusion.

He said Monday that there was only a "two percent" chance that he was going to sign elsewhere, including the Giants who seemed to be in the running for his services all the way into the 11th hour.

"I knew I wanted to be back," Graham said. "It was all about them getting it done. Anybody going through that wants to see what their worth is, you don't want to be shorted anything because you only have so much time before the game is over. I'm just trying to set my family up for life, that's my biggest thing on top of going out here and trying to win some championships."

Graham's experience made him a perfect candidate to describe what exactly makes a "Chip Kelly guy" given that he was brought back by the third-year head coach in his first season with complete personnel control.

"For me," Graham said. "Just buying into whatever Chip says to do and to go 100 percent at it. And not complain about it. That's his biggest thing.

"He wants us to have a championship mentality. I think he knows that's what I've been working towards. keeping that attitude both on and off the field. I think I kind of rubbed him the good way ... The best way."

Part of what Graham will need to do to take his game to the next level after the Eagles' rewarded him with a fresh four-year $26 million contract is his cover-skills, which he called his biggest weakness.

"I'm comfortable in coverage now," he explained. "That's one of my biggest weaknesses in this defense. That's all I've been working on and I think I'm doing pretty good."

From what we've already seen, Graham seems to have the mindset and work ethic necessary to tackle an increased role and workload in a defense that might not be tailor made to his skill-set.

Matt Lombardo may be reached at MDLombardo@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardo975. Find NJ.com Philadelphia Sports on Facebook e