If there is anything to be taken away from Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s that Tucker Kraft is now firmly in the conversation for the best tight end in all of football. A case can be made for others, such as Trey McBride, George Kittle, and Sam LaPorta. Still, if Kraft wasn’t in that conversation before Sunday, he certainly is now. After years of getting virtually nothing out of their third-round draft picks, the Green Bay Packers have finally found a game-changing player with the tight end out of South Dakota.
Another development from Sunday’s action – also at the tight end position – is the apparent fall of fellow 2023 draft pick Luke Musgrave. The former Oregon State Beaver played his lowest snap count in a game he was healthy since joining Green Bay. Was it a one-game thing, or is he now permanently tight end No. 3?
It’s hard to believe that, at one point, people viewed Musgrave as the future of the tight end position in Green Bay. He was drafted a round before Kraft in 2023 and was seen as the more NFL-ready prospect. The Packers envisioned him stepping in on Day 1 and helping elevate the offense to a level not seen since the Jermichael Finley days. He was considered too tall and fast for linebackers and defensive backs alike to cover. But not only has Musgrave failed to meet those expectations, he’s now losing snaps to John FitzPatrick, whom Green Bay picked up on waivers midseason a year ago.
For most of the season, Musgrave has played the TE2 role. Thanks to his immense natural talent and the hope of what he could become, he hasn’t been demoted even further — yet. However, over the last few weeks, the Packers have started to phase him out in favor of FitzPatrick.
When camp broke, the Packers penciled in Musgrave as the clear No. 2 tight end. There were even questions about whether FitzPatrick would make the final roster over Ben Sims. He ultimately did, and Musgrave out-snapped FitzPatrick by 21 total snaps in Week 1 (83 to 62). Since then? Musgrave hasn’t out-snapped FitzPatrick by more than 13 snaps and has played fewer snaps in two games. Sunday against the Steelers, FitzPatrick had his biggest offensive role of the season, out-snapping Musgrave by double digits (22 to 12).
Even when Musgrave has played, he’s essentially been a non-factor on the offense. He has six receptions on seven targets for 54 total yards this year. Week 2 was his biggest impact, hauling in two catches on two targets for 32 yards. However, he’s had only three catches since then.
The Packers could likely live with the lack of production if he were even a decent blocker. They have a blossoming superstar at the position they don’t want to take off the field. The problem is that Musgrave is a poor blocker for a tight end. He’s earned a 47.8 run-blocking grade this season, and he was the team’s lowest-graded run blocker on Sunday against the Steelers. Blocking is a big part of a tight end’s job description, and when you’re as bad at it as Musgrave is, it’s hard to justify more snaps.
While FitzPatrick isn’t the receiving threat Musgrave has the potential to be, his stats aren’t much worse, and he’s a far better blocker. He has five receptions on five targets for 24 yards and a touchdown. Oddly enough, considering how much better a receiver Musgrave is supposed to be, he and FitzPatrick have the same number of career touchdowns: one.
FitzPatrick’s came this season in the Dallas Cowboys game, while Musgrave’s came back in his rookie season in 2023. Add in the versatility FitzPatrick brings by lining up in the backfield as a fullback, giving Matt LaFleur a different wrinkle in his offense, and it’s clear why the coaching staff is leaning his way. While Musgrave’s run-blocking grade has declined as the season has gone on, FitzPatrick’s has improved.
In Weeks 3 and 4, he recorded grades of 49 and 49.4, but he’s posted 57.4 and 59.9 since then. That level of play aligns more with what teams expect from a TE2 than what Musgrave is currently producing. The Packers love their two-tight-end sets, but if the tight end that’s absorbing those snaps is a lousy blocker, then it breaks the illusion of complexity.
Before the Packers lost tight end Ben Sims off waivers to the division rival Minnesota Vikings, it was looking like Musgrave might be a prime trade candidate at the November 4 deadline. If there were ever a player who could benefit from a change of scenery, it’s Luke Musgrave.
However, it doesn’t make much sense now that the Packers don’t have a clear replacement on the roster. I still wouldn’t rule it out completely. Perhaps there’s a team out there willing to swap a cornerback, which the Packers badly need, whose career is in a similar place as Musgrave’s. Still, keeping him until the offseason and then parting ways seems more likely.
Unless we see a major breakthrough, Musgrave will go down as a big what-if in Packers lore. The last time Green Bay played in Pittsburgh – Week 10 of 2023, almost two years to the day – Musgrave started that game and played over 50 snaps, catching passes of 36 and 28 yards. Those were his longest plays of the season up to that point, and it was viewed as a potential coming-out party for the rookie.
On the other hand, Kraft caught only one pass for six yards in that game. At the time, Musgrave seemed poised to shatter Green Bay’s rookie receiving records for a tight end. However, just a week later, he suffered a lacerated kidney against the Chargers and has never returned to his pre-injury form or become the offensive weapon that Green Bay envisioned.
Since that injury, Musgrave has played just 14 games (due to other injuries) and has reached 20 yards only once. Once a promising prospect and the future of the offense, he now finds himself on the fringe of the roster with an uncertain future.
