Winners, Losers From Packers’ Signing of Jonnu Smith

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have decided to sign veteran tight end Jonnu Smith, an addition a couple weeks in the making that could pay dividends for the offense.

Smith caught 88 passes and scored eight touchdowns for the Dolphins in 2024 but caught only 38 passes last season. At 6-foot-2 5/8, he’s more of a matchup weapon than he is a traditional, old-school, in-line tight end.

He should be a significant contributor.

Here are the winners and losers.

Winner: Jonnu Smith (Obviously)

Happy birthday, Jonnu Smith.

Smith turned 31 on Aug. 22, so his (slightly) belated birthday present is joining a championship-contending team with a championship-caliber quarterback – all while getting to skip the rigors of training camp.

Smith caught 38 passes for 222 yards last season with Pittsburgh. His 5.8 yards per catch was the worst for any tight end with at least 35 receptions in NFL history. And it wasn’t close. Steve Heiden averaged 6.9 yards per catch for the Browns in 2006 and Donald Lee averaged 7.0 yards per catch for the Packers in 2009.

That won’t be the case for the Packers. Jordan Love’s desire to push the ball down field – “hunt explosive plays,” as he said after Wednesday's practice – will stretch the defense and give Smith, a proven run-after-catch player, the ability to gain a lot more yards.

Winner: Jordan Love

Sometimes, Jordan Love’s big-play approach can make it difficult to find completions. Jonnu Smith should give him a security-blanket type of receiver. He’s caught at least 70 percent of his targets each of the last four seasons. According to Pro Football Focus, Smith the last four seasons has caught 203 passes with only 11 drops.

For his career, he’s averaged 6.7 YAC per catch. Among the 49 tight ends who were targeted at least 30 times last season, that would have ranked sixth.

That’s important because the YAC attack completely vanished without Kraft last season. During the eight games when Kraft was in the lineup, Love benefitted from the second-most YAC. During the final nine games, he benefitted from the least YAC.

Now, Love could have two YAC-machine tight ends on the field.

Winner: Tucker Kraft

If Smith can take over some of the YAC duties, Kraft should be able to make more of an impact on downfield passes. Of the 49 tight ends targeted at least 30 times last season, Kraft’s average distance of target of 4.8 yards tied for 42nd.

Last season, according to PFF, Kraft caught eight passes behind the line of scrimmage. Meanwhile he caught seven passes between 10 and 19 yards downfield and one pass thrown 20-plus yards downfield. Added together, Kraft caught 8-of-9 passes thrown 10-plus yards downfield for 207 yards and two touchdowns.

Winner: Matt LaFleur

The Packers thrived with 12 personnel last season. According to Sumer Sports, they were seventh in usage and fifth in EPA per passing play. “Success” is a good measure of, well, success. For example, a first-and-10 play that gains 4 yards is a successful play; a first-and-10 play that gains 3 yards or less is not. When using 12 personnel last season, the Packers were seventh in passing success, fifth in rushing success and fifth in overall success.

However, with Luke Musgrave on PUP with a neck injury and his status unknown as he continues his recovery and rugged John FitzPatrick unsigned following last year’s torn Achilles, there was a big void on the roster.

With Smith, the Packers have a bigger threat with their second tight end than they were getting with Josh Whyle.

Smith played under LaFleur with the Titans in 2018, when he averaged a career-high 12.9 yards per catch. He hasn’t missed a game since the 2022 season.

Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith (9) runs after the catch against Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Loser: Jayden Reed

Jayden Reed isn’t just a slot receiver but he’s mostly a slot receiver. In 2024, when he led the team in receptions and yards, Reed lined up in the slot on 490 of his 683 offensive snaps. According to Sumer Sports, he was on the field for only eight snaps in 12 personnel in 2024 and only three during his injury-abbreviated 2025.

That might change this year with Reed a featured player in a slimmed-down receiver corps, but if one player is going to lose playing time with Kraft and Smith on the field at the same time, it’s Reed.

Loser: Josh Whyle

Josh Whyle was slated to be the No. 2 tight end this season. And that might be the case for the start of the season as Smith gets comfortable with what’s going to be asked of him in the offense.

But, in the long run, Kraft (obviously) will be the No. 1 tight end and Smith figures to command a lot of the No. 2 snaps.

“One of the things I’ve been really impressed [by] is his knowledge of the game,” position coach John Dunn said this week. “He’s really a smart player, and we’ve used him in a lot of different roles. And so the utility aspect has been really good, and he’s done a nice job in pass protection.”

Loser: Drake Dabney

If the Packers’ three tight ends on the 53-man roster were going to be players who competed during training camp, then Drake Dabney pretty obviously was going to win the No. 3 job.

After the addition of Smith? Who knows. The Packers might keep Dabney, anyway, in hopes he can fill a blocking role. Or, they could add another tight end after final cuts. Or, they might opt to use offensive lineman Darian Kinnard in that role, like he did last season.

“He’s a young player that is getting better every day,” Dunn said. “There’s no substitute for reps, and he’s certainly getting his fair share. So, every day is a learning opportunity, every day is a chance to get better. He’s going against really good players, and he’s growing in a positive way.”

Examining the fit and grading the Packers' signing of Jonnu Smith. ⬇️https://t.co/dmdtpbNfgC
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 27, 2026

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