When the Seattle Sounders lost central defender Danny Jackson to an injury during the preseason, the club not only lost a key player, they lost a leader and a booming voice at the back.

They replaced the booming presence with a looming presence.

Not long after Jackson's injury, the Sounders found an ample replacement — although a quieter, taller and less-fiery version. They signed Taylor Graham, a defender who had just been cut by the Kansas City Wizards after two productive seasons with the Major League Soccer club.

That move could turn out to be the single-most positive addition for the 2005 Sounders season.

Signing the 6-foot-4 Graham has paid dividends at both ends of the field. Graham has anchored the defensive unit, along with veteran goalkeeper Preston Burpo, and added a new dimension on set plays on offense.

Graham's height and leaping ability present matchup problems for a lot of defenses.

"Other teams tend to key on Taylor, and he usually draws the biggest defensive guy on the other team," said Sounders forward Roger Levesque. "He's got guys grabbing his shirt and he still gets to the ball 90 percent of the time. Obviously, he's been solid in the back, too.

"[Kansas City's] loss was Seattle's gain."

Graham, 25, a third-year pro who played at Stanford for four years with Levesque, finishing in 2002, takes pride in winning every loose ball.

"Being taller, I like winning balls in the air," said Graham, who chose Seattle over the Minnesota Thunder once he heard of Jackson's season-ending injury. "I enjoy doing that in games. It's definitely one of my roles to be dangerous offensively on set pieces, even though I haven't put one away yet."

Graham hasn't scored yet this season despite many header shots on corner kicks, free kicks and long throw-ins from the powerful throws of Ben Somoza. Graham has put his head on many send-ins.

"I'd like to believe that even if I'm not scoring, I'm helping other guys by drawing some attention," said Graham, whose work in the weight room in college helped him evolve into a more assertive player. "It's kind of like in basketball and helping other guys get open."

Graham's presence likely has led to three goals from fellow defender Ryan Edwards. Graham has attempted 15 shots on goal — probably all but three coming on headers above a crowd — as the Sounders have posted a 6-2-4 mark in United Soccer League First Division play.

On defense, only defending league champion Montreal has allowed fewer goals than the Sounders, with five, and Graham is a big reason. Seattle has outscored opponents 13-8 in First Division action.

When Graham was first released by Kansas City, he phoned Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer and asked about the team's needs on the back line. Schmetzer said he was all set on defense with veterans Jackson, Edwards and Scott Jenkins and youngster Zach Scott.

Then Jackson suffered his second knee injury in three seasons, and suddenly Schmetzer had a need for Graham. Graham, who grew up in Sacramento, Calif., wanted to stay on the West Coast.

That decision has made Schmetzer happy.

"The thing I love most about having him here is that his physical presence is psychologically damaging to opponents, especially when we play more defensive on the road," Schmetzer said. "Between Taylor, [Edwards] and Zach, we win every single goal kick. Opponents know they're not going to win a header and then they start playing short balls to the outside backs.

"After the first game of the year, [Portland coach] Bobby Howe said it best, '[Graham's] too much to handle.' So, they're not looking forward to playing against him this year."

Graham says he never looked at his demotion from MLS to USL First Division as anything but an opportunity.

"It's part of the journey," said Graham, an international relations major at Stanford who plans to finish three classes in the fall to complete his Master's degree in sociology. "It was definitely disappointing to be released, for sure. I just wanted to put myself in a situation where I'd be able to play after that.

"I thought I'd made strides every day [in MLS], but the coaches thought differently. I want to play at the highest level. But you can't replace the game experience I'm getting in Seattle."