Packers Struck Gold With Tucker Kraft

For many years, a reliable tight end has been the golden goose the Green Bay Packers have profusely searched for. Whether it was free-agent expenditures on Martellus Bennett, Jared Cook, and Jimmy Graham, or trying to solve the problem within with the likes of Robert Tonyan and Richard Rodgers, Green Bay has allowed many different players to establish themselves as the middle-of-the-field target to complement their consistent surplus at the wide receiver position. Alas, it has been more than a decade since Jermichael Finley had his career cut short at just age 26 due to a neck injury, and we are still having the same conversation about finally replacing him.

While the Packers have gotten individual seasons and moments that presented promise, it is fair to say that they have not been successful in discovering the answer to this dilemma. Fortunately, that may be finally changing, and it has come from an unlikely source.

In case you were wondering whether or not a tight end was something Green Bay was coveting, they made that obvious when they selected two tight ends within the first three rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft. However, the latter tight end selected has taken over the spotlight.

South Dakota State isn’t shy about having players drafted from their program (36), but you aren’t going to mistake it with Alabama or Ohio State, and players drafted from an FCS program are often expected to take time to adjust to NFL competition. That is especially true at the tight end position, which is often a daunting role for younger players. Yet, did anyone tell Tucker Kraft that?

To be fair, Kraft, a third-round pick in 2023, did not emerge immediately for the Packers. Between Weeks 1 and 10 of his rookie season, he accumulated only 43 receiving yards and never played more than 51% of the team’s snaps in a given game. The rest of the way, however, told a different story. Kraft found his way into the end zone on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit (Week 11), but the more notable story was him playing 95% of the team’s snaps, a trend that continued; he never fell below an 82% snap count in a given game the rest of the way and started every game in that span (including two playoff games) as well. 

Kraft’s increase in playing time was aligned with second-round rookie tight end Luke Musgrave suffering a lacerated kidney, but it was an opportunity he has fully taken advantage of. Musgrave is now on injured reserve with an ankle injury, but in the seven games the two tight ends have played together, Kraft has dramatically outpaced him in playing time. Those opportunities are translating into tremendous production.

Keep in mind that the bottom numbers include one extra game played, but the per-game increase in production remains notable. Of course, Green Bay was without quarterback Jordan Love in Weeks 2 and 3, but that only benefits the optimistic view here; Love is their franchise quarterback and Kraft producing with him points to a promising future. While it would be unfair to project such a small sample size of statistics over a full season, it isn’t hard to see how Kraft could be in line to provide the Packers with the most reliable tight end they’ve had since Finley.

While not a downfield threat, Kraft is averaging more yards after the catch per reception than any other tight end in the NFL (9.8 per NFL Next Gen Stats). When comparing that to his expected production after the catch, he also leads tight ends in outperforming those expectations (3.2 extra yards per reception) and is producing a tremendous 136.7 passer rating when targeted (3rd among tight ends). Whether it’s George Kittle, Gerald Everett, or Tyler Higbee, the type of offense that Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, and Packers head coach Matt LaFleur run have effectively proven to benefit from tight ends who can produce after the catch in the short passing game, and Kraft appears to be the next in line. Oh, and he can make plays like this for good measure, too:

Don’t worry, we did not forget about the production after the catch:

While South Dakota State isn’t churning out Pro Bowl players at an extremely high rate, they were the college for a very successful tight end from the 2018 draft. That player? Dallas Goedert, who took advantage of every extra opportunity he was given in Philadelphia en route to establishing himself as one of the most renowned tight ends in the NFL. If all goes well, Kraft may be heading down a similar path, and things could not be working out better in Green Bay right now.

 It may have taken a decade, but the Packers may finally have the tight end they have been questing for.