PFF Picks Packers’ Breakout Candidate

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Last season, the Green Bay Packers’ receivers accounted for 229 receptions. All were made by first- or second-year players, and they’re all back for 2024. The tight ends accounted for 77 receptions. The returning group – all rookies last year – caught 69 of them.

So, there were a lot of options for Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker when he picked one breakout player for all 16 NFC teams. He chose tight end Luke Musgrave.

“It’s hard not to be extremely excited about the Packers’ boatload of young receiving options, and Musgrave is verifiably part of that,” he explained. “He played in just 13 games because of a lacerated kidney, but he was elite at the end of 2023: his 91.9 receiving grade between Week 18 and the divisional round led all tight ends. Musgrave is a player to buy stock in entering 2024.”

In a draft class with rare talent and depth, Musgrave was the fourth off the board in 2023. Even while limited to just 42.7 percent playing time, Musgrave finished third with 34 receptions, fourth with 352 yards and sixth with 1.28 yards per route. The reception count tied Bubba Franks’ franchise rookie record.

He had just one drop (2.9 percent) and was a better-than-expected blocker.

Musgrave was a second-round pick last season. Tucker Kraft was a third-round pick. They could provide the Packers with a dynamic duo not seen in Titletown since Mark Chmura and Keith Jackson helped the Packers win a Super Bowl in 1996.

“I think tight ends are great weapons because they can really wear a bunch of different hats,” position coach John Dunn said recently. “You start getting two on the field and now the defense (asks), how do you match that? How do they defend that? How are you using them?

“We talk about it in our room all the time: The more you can do, the better we’re going to be as an offense, the better we’re going to be as a unit, the better we’re going to be as a group. I think it’s exciting. Now, there’s a lot of work to get to that stage. Just because you had success, there’s still a lot of work to be done, and that’s our goal every day. The more guys we can get on the field, that means the more guys are producing and we’re doing our job. So, yeah, I think it’ll be fun to see that as it goes forward.”

With a strong finish to the season, Kraft finished with 31 receptions for 355 yards. The yardage count was 8 yards behind Franks’ rookie record, a rather remarkable achievement considering he had three receptions for 11 yards through his first nine games. His 7.5 YAC per catch ranked No. 1 among the 45 tight ends who were targeted at least 30 times last year.

However, with Kraft slow to establish himself and Musgrave missing six games down the stretch, they barely played together. According to league data, they were on the field at the same time for just 71 snaps.

Presumably, now that they’ve established themselves, they’ll have expanded roles in 2024.

“I think those guys are very well-rounded tight ends that can do everything that we’re asking,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the Scouting Combine. “I think since Matt (LaFleur has) been here, the tight end position has been extremely important to what we do, not only in the pass game, but in the run game. so having tight ends that can function in both, particularly in the blocking phases, is really, really important.

“I think both those guys proved in their initial years, and there’s so much room and growth for those guys to get better, that they can do everything. And just really excited about where those guys are going. You know, Tucker really came on once Luke had the injury. So, I think the confidence and the level that both those guys are at now, it’s going to be really fun to see those guys on the field at the same time.”

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— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) May 17, 2024