By Necessity, Packers Digging Deep Into Deep Tight End Class

The Green Bay Packers’ interest runs deeper than this week’s predraft visit by Georgia’s Darnell Washington.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Mar 22, 2023 2:38 PM EDT

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have an enormous need at tight end. Even if veteran Marcedes Lewis can be convinced to return, the Packers will need a pass-catching threat to grow alongside Jordan Love.

A strong draft class – a rarity given the proliferation of spread offenses throughout the college level – has the Packers necessarily intrigued.

Georgia’s Darnell Washington, a monster of a man with nimble feet and a history of blocking, took a predraft visit to Green Bay. He was viewed as a potential first-round pick even before he blew up the Scouting Combine. An agent for a different tight end in the draft class said Washington is “highly coveted” by teams.

More tight end visits are scheduled among the team's allotment of 30, said a source who didn’t want to reveal names in advance.

Iowa’s Sam LaPorta did not visit but general manager Brian Gutekunst and director of college scouting Matt Malaspina were at the Hawkeyes’ recent pro day. With the Packers presumably not in the hunt for a linebacker such as Jack Campbell, pass rusher Lukas Van Ness and LaPorta were the star attractions for Green Bay’s heavy hitters.

LaPorta had an outstanding career, especially given the weakness of Iowa’s offense. He caught 53 passes for 670 yards in 2021 and 58 passes for 648 yards in 2022. Of the 42 FBS-level tight ends in this draft class who were targeted at least 30 times, he finished third with 2.16 yards per pass route, according to Pro Football Focus.

While LaPorta dropped too many passes (six), he led the draft class with 20 missed tackles. At 6-foot-3, he’s got 4.59 speed.

A team captain, he’s the next in a line of Iowa tight ends that includes George Kittle, George Fant and T.J. Hockenson.

“I think I'm really versatile,” he said at the Combine. “I was utilized a lot in our passing offense. I think I'm a developing blocker but still competitive. I have a long way to go. I think I'm an instinctive player. I always seem to be on the same page as the quarterback. I made good connections with our quarterbacks at Iowa.”

South Dakota State’s Tucker Kraft had a formal meeting with the Packers at the Combine, where he measured 6-foot-5 with 4.69 speed.

Kraft, who played nine-man football while growing up in Timber Lake, S.D., caught 65 passes for 780 yards to earn FCS first-team All-American accolades in 2021.

A big fish in the small pond of FCS football, the turned down six-figure NIL deals to transfer to a Power Five program and returned to SDSU. Unfortunately, he missed about half of the season with an ankle injury and finished with 27 receptions for 348 yards and three scores in eight games for the FCS national champions.

Of the 57 FBS- and FCS-level tight ends in the draft, he finished third with 2.32 yards per route, according to PFF. His 7.7 yards after the catch per catch was No. 1 among the draft-worthy tight ends. He can block, too, making him a potential three-down player.

“Mentally, it took a greater toll on me than it did physically,” he said of the injury. “I invested so much time into 2022 season trying to be tight end 1 on the board out of out of college, like a unanimous tight end 1. So, that hurt a lot. That hurt my pride.”

Utah’s Dalton Kincaid, who is the best pass-catching threat in the class and perhaps the No. 1 prospect at the position, had a formal interview with the Packers at the Combine.

“One of my best friends in Utah, his older brother played with the Packers, Bronson Kaufusi, and has some experience there,” Kincaid said. “He speaks very highly of the culture in the Packers organization. And that's something I want to play for as a team with very good culture. I think that kind of starts from the top to the bottom. And I think it really reflects on a team’s success.”

Kincaid finished his final season with 70 receptions for 890 yards and eight touchdowns. He had only two drops, forced 16 missed tackles and was second with 2.42 yards per route. He will go through testing at the Utes’ pro day on Thursday.

There’s obvious interest, as well, in Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, the best two-way prospect in the draft, and Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave, who has perhaps the most dominant pass-catching skill-set at 6-foot-6 and with 4.61 speed.

Mayer averaged a class-best 2.44 yards per route. According to PFF, he made 17 contested catches – six more than anyone else in the draft class. At 6-foot-4 1/2, he ran his 40 in 4.70 seconds. That’s a good time but pales in comparison to some of the tight ends in this class.

Musgrave, who caught 11 passes for 169 yards and one touchdown in games against Boise State and Fresno State before a season-ending knee injury, might have put up absurd numbers over the course of the season with his 3.38 yards per route.