The Green Bay Packers opened their 2024 season with a 34-29 loss in Brazil on Friday, but they certainly rode a hype train into it. Most of the excitement centered around Jordan Love and his army of young pass-catchers. Brian Gutekunst has been in his bag in the middle rounds recently, landing wide receivers Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, and Dontayvion Wicks, as well as the tight end duo of Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. Green Bay’s talent has more than replaced departed superstar Davante Adams. However, the downside is that feeding all those mouths is hard.
Green Bay drafted Musgrave and Kraft one round apart in 2023, and they have been on a depth chart collision course for their entire careers. Gutekunst attacked the lingering tight end problem the second he took over for Ted Thompson, making a free-agency splash by signing Jimmy Graham. The position has been in flux since Jermichael Finley went down with a career-ending injury. As a result, it was hard to blame Gutey for doubling up on a dire need. In their rookie year, Matt LaFleur utilized each in interesting ways, setting up a pivotal Year 2 in Love’s offense.
For most of 2023, the drumbeat was significantly louder for Musgrave. He displayed his 6’6” frame and freakish athleticism at training camp, which had a hand in it. But so did his status as a second-round pick compared to Kraft, who was a third. Musgrave made some noise as a deep threat, finding himself wide open down the seam but struggling to stay on his feet afterward. Overall, he proved to be an intriguing prospect with the ability to line up out wide and on the line of scrimmage. When he went down with a season-ending abdominal injury, we got a look at Kraft, who played a different, more bruising game and became a crucial component of LaFleur’s play-action scheme.
Heading into 2024, it was much less clear where they stood relative to one another. Kraft has battled injuries throughout the offseason, one of which had him listed as questionable for Friday’s opener. However, beat writers and practice-goers suggested an increasing likelihood of a Kraft takeover. That materialized rapidly from the opening drives. Kraft took the field for 25 of the first 26 offensive snaps in Sao Paulo; Musgrave was on for only 10. That shocked the fantasy football market, which had Musgrave priced as a mid- to late-round option and Kraft mainly off the board.
The combined total of 35 speaks to a decent dose of 12-personnel from LaFleur. It’s an easy way to maximize a pair of complementary tight ends. However, it was a hindrance to emerging young receiver depth pieces like Dontayvion Wicks and Bo Melton. There’s likely a lot to sort out over the first half or so of the season, but Kraft is the clear No. 1 on the depth chart entering Week 2.
LaFleur appears to be running back the same rotation-heavy personnel usage as last year. Similar to what the Kansas City Chiefs rolled out on opening night, a diversified dose of groupings with a handful of receivers and tight ends getting looks. The Packers and Eagles also relied upon a workhorse running back. In Green Bay’s case, Josh Jacobs had a few nice runs, but his debut paled compared to Saquon Barkley’s with Philadelphia.
The Packers used their tight end rotation similarly to how the Baltimore Ravens used Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely. Green Bay’s rendition contained significantly more 12-personnel, including many plays in which they split both tight ends out wide. Still, it reflected the same principle of wanting to get both involved offensively. From a results standpoint, Kraft was the only one to get in the box score. His two catches for 37 yards were the only production from the room as the Reed, Watson, and Doubs trio vacuumed up most of targets.
Of course, the team is in a Schrödinger’s cat-adjacent state where the sky may or may not be falling. We have not received a conclusive diagnosis of Jordan Love’s injury, nor have we received any subsequent estimation of his recovery time. Things could get weird if the team is forced to turn to newcomer Malik Willis, who arrives with an uninspiring resumé, to say the least. Currently, Tucker Kraft is clearly in the driver’s seat at the tight end spot after carrying momentum from a strong finish to the playoff run in 2023.
