Packers Offseason Preview: Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft and Tight Ends
GREEN BAY, Wis. – If you’re into apples-to-oranges comparisons, the Green Bay Packers’ primary tight ends in 2022 were veterans Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis. The Packers let them sign with the rival Chicago Bears in free agency last offseason. Combined, they contributed 15 receptions for 141 yards and one touchdown in 2023.
In their place were a pair of rookies, second-round pick Luke Musgrave and third-round pick Tucker Kraft. They combined for 65 receptions for 707 yards and three touchdowns.
Here’s a perfect offseason overview of the Packers’ tight ends.
The Depth Chart
Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft have a chance to be a premier tandem. Individually, they were fantastic.
Musgrave caught 34 passes for 352 yards and one touchdown. He matched Bubba Franks’ franchise rookie record for most receptions. If not for a lacerated kidney that sidelined him for six games down the stretch, he might have made a run at Jermichael Finley’s franchise record for most receptions by a tight end with 61.
With size, athleticism and toughness, Musgrave was just beginning to emerge. Against the Rams in Week 9, he had a 25-yard catch and a 20-yard touchdown. A week later against Pittsburgh, he had catches of 36 and 28 yards.
Musgrave’s pain was Kraft’s gain. Through that game at Pittsburgh, he had three receptions for 11 yards for the season. Without Musgrave, Kraft became practically an every-snap player. In eight games as the full-time tight end, he caught 28 passes for 344 yards. Among all tight ends, he ranked 12th in catches and 10th in yards during that span. Down the stretch, he had four consecutive games of four-plus catches for 45-plus yards, one game off the NFL’s rookie record for a tight end.
Kraft finished the season with 31 receptions for 355 yards and two touchdowns. He was 8 yards shy of Franks’ rookie record. His 7.5 YAC per catch was No. 1 among all tight ends with 30-plus targets.
A pair of undrafted free agents, Ben Sims and Joel Wilson, round out the under-contract depth chart.
Claimed off waivers from Minnesota at the end of training camp, Sims quickly gained a small role as the dirty-work guy. Following Musgrave’s injury, Sims played double-digits snaps each of the final eight regular-season games, including 41 in the win at Minnesota. Of his 189 snaps during the regular season, 168 came as a traditional, line-of-scrimmage tight end. All 23 playoff snaps came in that role. He caught four passes for 21 yards and a touchdown against Kansas City.
Wilson, an excellent receiver while at Central Michigan, spent the final couple months of the season on the practice squad.
Free Agency
Josiah Deguara, who’s more H-back than tight end, and Tyler Davis, who missed the season with a torn ACL, will be unrestricted free agents.
According to Pro Football Focus, Deguara’s 196 snaps in 2023 included 67 as a traditional, in-line tight end, 66 in the slot and 51 at fullback. He became practically an afterthought at times. Four of his eight catches came in Week 4 against Detroit. He wasn’t even targeted after catching one pass against the Rams in Week 8. He played only 16 snaps in the two playoff games.
For what it’s worth, the Packers thought enough of undrafted rookie fullback Henry Pearson to keep him despite an August knee injury.
Davis caught four passes in 14 games in 2021 and four more passes in 17 games in 2022. Davis wouldn’t have seen much action on offense, anyway, with the picks used on Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, but special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia counted on Davis to be a core player and leader.
Big Question
Just how high is the upside with Musgrave and Kraft? They became the second rookie tight end tandem since the 1970 merger to each have 30-plus receptions, 350-plus receiving yards and one-plus touchdown. The other? Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez of the New England Patriots.
In 2010, Gronkowski and Hernandez as rookies combined for 87 receptions for 1,109 yards and 16 touchdowns. In Year 2, they raised those numbers to 169 receptions for 2,237 yards and 24 touchdowns. A doubling of those receptions and yardage figures would put Musgrave and Kraft at about 130 receptions for 1,400 yards.
A Perfect Offseason
From a personnel perspective, GM Brian Gutekunst barely has to lift a finger. That’s huge. Last year’s tight end class, which was filled with an instant-impact players, was a real outlier. This year’s class is back to the typical mediocrity. Neither Deguara nor Davis are players who must be re-signed, which is helpful given the teams challenges with the salary cap.
The 23-year-old trio of Musgrave, Kraft and Sims are a terrific starting point. And, so long as they take that cliched Year 2 jump, which will start with OTAs in May as they gain a greater comfort in their roles, they’ll be an even better ending point.
From Gutekunst’s perspective, perhaps it’s worth using a late-round pick on a potential replacement for Deguara in that fullback type of role. Otherwise, the Packers are set for the next few years with two difference-making players and a promising blocker.
