The Green Bay Packers gave rookie tight end Luke Musgrave the proverbial keys to the tight end room. Musgrave was TE1 from the first day he stepped onto the Don Hutson Center grass. Green Bay threw Musgrave into action immediately.
Tight end is one of the most difficult positions to learn in the NFL. The knowledge needed to play the position is second only to center and quarterback. As a tight end, a player must be able to block like an offensive lineman but move like a receiver. Given the role that Musgrave plays in LaFleur’s offense, it’s important that he can play receiver.
While the rookie from Oregon State has shown flashes halfway through the season, Musgrave struggled as a blocker in the run game. In the passing game, Musgrave had some issues with his route-running and his ability to hang onto the ball.
He set a career-high in receiving yards and hauled in his first touchdown last week against the Los Angeles Rams. He has 247 yards on 27 receptions this season. Among rookies, Musgrave is third in receptions, yards, and yards after the catch.
Dalton Kincaid, Sam LaPorta, and Michael Mayer got drafted before Musgrave this year, but only Kincaid and LaPorta are ahead of Musgrave in yards. We knew that Musgrave was a good pass-catcher coming out of Oregon State. The real question was whether he could turn into an every-down tight end. The Packers have given him every opportunity to, and he started to look the part on Sunday.
Musgrave has improved tremendously in certain areas of the blocking game. Almost immediately, he has gotten a lot more comfortable in the trenches.
Musgrave does a few things well in the play above. Musgrave stays low and gets a little chip off on the edge to help his teammate. Then, he moves up to the second level of the defense. The rookie gets his hands on a linebacker and makes room for A.J. Dillon rolling behind him.
Musgrave’s goal-line play above is superb. He stays low and uses his hands to gain leverage on the defender. Then he pushes him up and out to create a seal and a lane for Aaron Jones to run through. It’s a great job blocking.
But not everything went well for the rookie in the trenches:
In the video above, Byron Young throws Musgrave off like a fly in his face and makes a short-yardage play. Musgrave got a little ahead of himself, and Young used Musgrave’s inside position and leverage against him. It’s a learning moment for the youngster, no doubt.
In the passing game, Musgrave secured a career-high 51 yards against the Rams. It was another game where Musgrave was productive and involved in some big plays for the Packers offense.
Musgrave slow-plays his route in the video below and finds the open space on the other side of the field. You’d like to see Jordan Love throw that ball a little flatter so Musgrave could catch it in stride, but a first down is a first down.
The play below is more so a good design from Matt LaFleur. But Musgrave does a nice job of selling the block and waiting for the Mike linebacker to clear out and fully bite on the second fake screen by Dillion. Musgrave then finds the space, makes the catch, stays on his feet, and wiggles into the end zone.
“Awesome feeling,” said Musgrave. “Been a while, but it’s awesome to get in the end zone and help the team win. Not quite a feeling like it.”
Musgrave has improved dramatically since Week 1. We’re starting to see the potential and the promise that came with selecting the big tight end in the second round. An occasional miscue doesn’t overshadow the progress that Musgrave is making.
