88-Catch Free Agent Could Provide Big Lift to Packers’ Passing Attack

The Green Bay Packers are going with the less-is-more approach at receiver. The obvious counterpoint to that is what if less is actually just less?

At receiver, they have three players they trust to start games in Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden. Savion Williams had a productive day at practice on Sunday but has a long way to go before he can be considered reliable.

At tight end, less is actually just barren.

Tucker Kraft is working his way back from last season’s ACL tear. While he is practicing and his goal is to be ready for a full workload in the season opener, the Packers are unlikely to have him play every snap in a game. As things stand, though, they may not have another choice.

Luke Musgrave is on the shelf with a neck injury. Josh Whyle just returned to practice from an injury. He’s more of a role player, anyway. The back of the depth chart includes a bunch of players with extremely limited experience (or none at all) with Drake Dabney, Messiah Swinson and McCallan Castles.

If only there was someone available on the free-agent market who has familiarity in Matt LaFleur’s offense who could help as a secondary pass-catching option.

As it turns out, the Packers are in luck. Tight end Jonnu Smith is available and, because he’s looking for a team halfway through training camp, isn’t likely to cost much.

Jonnu Smith’s Familiarity

Signing with a new team always requires an adjustment period, but if the Packers were to make the move for Smith, his adjustment would likely be accelerated.

Smith and coach Matt LaFleur are not strangers. Smith was in Tennessee when LaFleur was the Titans’ offensive coordinator in 2018. He caught 20 passes on 30 targets in 13 games, scoring three touchdowns.

Since then, Smith has played most prominently in Arthur Smith’s system with the Titans and Falcons. Arthur Smith was LaFleur’s successor when LaFleur took the head job in Green Bay in 2019, leading to Jonnu Smith becoming a more prominent figure in the passing game.

Jonnu Smith’s most productive season came with Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins in 2024, when he caught an eye-popping 88 passes for 884 yards and eight touchdowns. That includes a late-season game at Green Bay in which he caught 10-of-11 targets for 113 yards.

While that season is an outlier, Smith has been productive throughout his career. Since 2020, he’s never caught less than 27 passes. He caught 38 passes last season for the Steelers. Plus, he’s played all 17 games each of the past three seasons.

“I was with Jonnu back in Tennessee. He’s one of the more explosive guys in regards to being able to catch and run,” LaFleur said before last year’s game at Pittsburgh.

What’s the Fit Between Jonnu Smith, Packers?

With Tucker Kraft assuming full duties as the top tight end on the roster, the Packers might be looking for someone who can fill responsibilities as a secondary tight end. That player is more of a role player in LaFleur’s system, which means he better be able to block.

That’s part of the reason Musgrave has struggled since falling behind Kraft prior to the 2024 season.

Smith isn’t a great blocker, either. At 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds, he’s not a traditional tight end. In desperate times, however, the Packers and LaFleur might need to be willing to make some adjustments on what they’re looking for at the position.

Pass Catching Options

Smith caught 38 passes from Aaron Rodgers last season but for only 222 yards. He gained just 10 first downs. The Packers’ receiver trio of Savion Williams, Bo Melton and Skyy Moore, on the other hand, combined to catch 19 passes. Even if you include Golden, that number only rises to 48. The moral of the story is there is not a lot of experience in Green Bay’s pass-catching corps beyond Watson, Reed and Kraft.

All three of those players have significant injury histories, and Golden missed time last year with shoulder and wrist injuries.

Green Bay already got a glimpse of what its fate could look like if the injury bug bites. Savion Williams had a big day at practice on Sunday, but that was buoyed by the fact that Golden and Reed were on the sideline nursing injuries.

The two players returned to the lineup after a short absence, but the Packers may not be so lucky in the future.

In a different world in which the Packers are not vying for a Super Bowl, they could roll the dice that a young tight end behind Kraft would step up. They could make the bet that they’ll be OK with Williams, Melton or Moore stepping into more of a full-time role.

This is not a normal world. The Packers are looking to compete for a Super Bowl in 2026. Their defense is likely to experience some growing pains with a new defensive coordinator who will have to navigate at least the first month without its best defensive player.

The Packers’ path to a good start to the season, and perhaps a glorifying finish, falls on the right arm of Jordan Love.

If nothing else, Smith, who will turn 31 on Aug. 22, would provide an insurance policy if Kraft is not fully ready to start the season or has to miss time later in the year. He’d also provide a secondary passing threat and give LaFleur options for two-tight-end sets. As an added bonus, he carried the ball nine times for 70 yards last season.

General manager Brian Gutekunst has broken his mold in terms of signing veterans on the wrong side of 30, with Javon Hargrave and Zaire Franklin making their way to Green Bay this offseason.

With desperation looming at tight end, it might be time to do that again.

Here are five Packers who will take soaring stocks into the preseason. Among them is the player in the picture, rising defensive tackle Warren Brinson. ⬇️https://t.co/PFiEdiLipB
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 12, 2026

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