The Green Bay Packers didn’t put much to get excited about on tape in their complete meltdown against the New York Giants on Monday night, but there was one tasty morsel.
The Packers added some Kraft to their cheese plate this off-season, and he’s starting to look sharp.
Third-round rookie tight end Tucker Kraft was one of the few bright spots in Monday’s loss. He’s made the most of his increasing opportunities every week. Losing Luke Musgrave for the season was a big blow to Green Bay’s young receiving corps and tight end room, but Kraft has taken a significant leap forward to compensate. Kraft does things differently than Musgrave, but he’s coming into his own as the team’s current TE1, and the Packers will heavily rely upon him down the stretch.
Drafting two tight ends was a big surplus for the Packers, who have struggled to find a consistently dominant tight end since the Jermichael Finley days. Musgrave and Kraft are athletic monsters with high ceilings, but it’s difficult for rookie tight ends to make an impact early on, thanks to needing to learn so many aspects of NFL life. But both rookies would find plenty of opportunities to earn playing time.
Musgrave seemed to be above the curve, impressing in the off-season and slotting in as the team’s TE1 when the season started. He still had rookie growing pains but found an important role on the team as a big downfield target by mid-season. Musgrave was well on his way to breaking every rookie tight end record in Green Bay.
Unfortunately, Kraft didn’t have the same strong start as his draftmate. He got fewer snaps, and Jordan Love only targeted twice in the first eight games.
But the Packers gave Kraft a bigger role when Musgrave was injured against the Los Angeles Chargers game in Week 9. So far, he’s proved the lights aren’t too bright.
Kraft caught 14 of 19 targets for 159 yards and one TD on the season, with an 11.4 yards per reception average. Almost all of that production came in the last month. Before his first official touchdown against the Detroit Lions, Kraft showed some savvy footwork and speed on a TD that the referees called back thanks to a brief step out of bounds. While it didn’t count, it was the first taste of what Kraft could do.
The South Dakota State product had his best game of the season on Monday night, catching all four of his targets for 64 yards. Kraft’s most impressive catch was a 43-yard bomb to get the offense going, and three of those catches were for first downs. Kraft also was a fantastic blocker, an area where he’s really starting to shine. His 76.4 PFF score was second on offense.
Kraft’s skillset is different from Musgrave’s. He makes tough catches and generates some YAC. He’s turning into a true mauler as a blocker, falling somewhat into Marcedes Lewis‘ old role. It’ll be a while before we can put Kraft on Big Dog’s level, but that role was severely lacking in the first half of the season with the offensive line struggling.
The Timber Lake, SD native is easy to root for thanks to his small-town charm and hunger for success. His stance on blocking is exactly what you’d want from a young tight end, especially in an offense like Matt LaFleur’s.
“I’m comfortable with violence at the LOS,” Kraft told The Draft Network. “I want to punish defenders as a blocker. I see the emotions in their face change once I put them on their heels. I can feel their breath leaving. They exhale as I fall on top of them.”
On Tuesday, LaFleur said Kraft has improved as much as anyone on the team and praised his big-play ability as a receiver and in the run game. Kraft is clearly one of the most improved players from this summer.
Thanks to Green Bay’s dearth of available offensive weapons, Kraft will get even more opportunities to showcase what he can do. With Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and Aaron Jones‘ status for Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers uncertain and Musgrave already on IR, the Packers are thin on skill-position players. We’ve already seen the offense falter without their core players, which provides plenty of opportunity for Kraft to take a bigger role in the passing game.
Even after an embarrassing loss to a not-great football team, Green Bay still holds a decent chance of sneaking into the postseason. The top-heavy NFC isn’t very good. The Packers are asking a lot from their young offensive players, especially as injuries pile up. But Tucker Kraft is making the most of those opportunities and playing a bigger role on offense every week. Maybe, just maybe, he might break the third-round curse that’s seemingly plagued Green Bay.
