Packers Draft Potential-Packed Tight End Luke Musgrave in Second Round
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are swinging for the fences at tight end, using the first of their second-round picks on Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave.
Musgrave is right out of Central Casting. He’s 6-foot-6 with 4.61 speed. He’s a potential matchup nightmare. But, for now, he’s nothing more than potential.
“Dude hasn’t been very productive,” a scout said.
Georgia’s Darnell Washington, another huge heap of potential but at least a proven blocker, was available.
The pick was No. 42 – the one acquired from the New York Jets in the Aaron Rodgers trade. They were set to pick again at No. 45 but traded back twice to No. 50 before picking Michigan State receiver Jayden Reed.
Said Jon-Eric Sullivan, the Packers’ vice president of player personnel, of Musgrave: “We really like the skill-set. Watching that kid move around, watching him block, we feel like there’s a ton of upside. We feel like where he is now and where he can go is exciting.”
Here’s a deeper dive, with more information to follow.
Measureables: 6-5 7/8, 253 pounds, 10 3/8 hands. 4.61 40, 4.41 shuttle, 9.77 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Musgrave caught 47 passes for 633 yards and two touchdowns. Not in 2022 but in his career. A 6-foot-6 ball of potential, he got off to a red-hot start by catching 11 passes for 169 yards (15.4 average) and one touchdown in the first two games of 2022 but missed the rest of the season due to a knee injury.
Analytical stats: For his career, Musgrave caught 47 passes. According to PFF, he averaged 3.38 yards per route in 2022 and 1.38 for his career. He dropped one pass in 2022 and nine for his career, a too-high final rate of 16.1 percent. He used his length to catch 7-of-18 contested catches. He was never much of a threat after the catch, with two career missed tackles and 3.8 YAC per reception. On passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield, he was 3-for-3 in 2022 and 4-for-10 in 2021. In the run game, his blown-block rate was 0.0 percent (0.8 in 2021 and 1.4 in 2020).
How he fits: If Utah’s Dalton Kincaid is the best receiving threat in the draft class, then Musgrave has the upside to eventually unseat him.
“I just love the versatility that comes with it,” he told The Draft Network of playing tight end. “You’re not just a receiver. You’re not just an offensive lineman either. You’re a little of both. You have to do both of those at an extremely high level. You have to be able to block these pass rushers that are getting paid millions of dollars to sack the quarterback. You also have to defeat guys in coverage that are getting paid millions of dollars to cover wide receivers. You really have to do both.”
Cooper says: He’s tough [to assess because he played in only two games in 2022]. The first thing you see with him is he’s super-long, athletic. He’s a receiving mismatch. You’re going to come in right away and look to him to be a mismatch on a lot of linebackers. Obviously, has the size on a lot of safeties, as well. He needs a lot of work in the blocking game, he needs to get stronger. He’s super-resilient. If he misses a block, he’ll come back and get it done the next time. So, he has that competitiveness, he has that willingness, so it'll eventually come for him.
Sports Info Solutions says: Musgrave projects as a starting Y-TE at the next level in a system that allows him to be an inline blocker and run a varied route tree. He can make catches underneath or use his speed to stretch the defense. His blocking is just sufficient at the moment, but he has the traits to develop in that area.
Personal touch: Musgrave is from a legendary Oregon football family. His father, Doug, played quarterback at Oregon and an uncle, Bill, also played quarterback at Oregon before embarking on professional careers as a player and coach.
“You learn so many lessons playing football. It really helps you out in life. From toughness to character, hard work, and dedication, I’ve learned so many valuable lessons along the way,” he told The Draft Network recently.
“One thing I hold near and dear to my heart is the toughness aspect. My dad always told me to never lay down on a football field unless you physically can’t get up. As long as you can stand, never lay down. I’ve never laid down on a field. I take pride in that.”
At Bend (Ore.) High School, Musgrave competed in football, lacrosse, track and ski racing. His mom, Amy, was part of the U.S. developmental ski team in the 1980s.
“I've been skiing since I could walk. It's my mom's big sport,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “It definitely helped me a lot. I can attribute my big legs to it. It really did help me. I've got big quads because of it and I'm thankful I did it. … Football and ski racing were my big sports growing up. So in the winter it was ski racing and in the fall and summer it was football. The fact I was going up there doing something fun and unique was really what got me into it.”
