By: Paul Bretl 7/11/2024
With Green Bay Packers training camp less than two weeks away, I’ll be doing a position-by-position preview. Next up are the tight ends.
If you missed any of the previous position previews, you can find them below:
Roster: Tyler Davis, Tucker Kraft, Luke Musgrave, Ben Sims, Messiah Swinson, Joel Wilson, Henry Pearson (FB)
A dynamic one-two punch: We saw individually last season the potential that both Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft possess, but what we didn’t see a lot of were those powers being harnessed on the field together–or at least not with the full capabilities that are now available. That ability can help unlock a whole new world of potential for the Packers’ offense.
“I think tight ends are great weapons, right? Because they can really wear a bunch of different hats,” said tight ends coach John Dunn. “And so not to get into the schematics of how we use guys but 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? And 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.”
For Matt LaFleur as the play-caller, having two tight ends who can impact both the running and passing games helps open up the playbook for him, allowing the Packers to get much more creative, particularly from 12 personnel, when both tight ends are on field, and a grouping the Packers used relatively often last season.
Having one tight end, but especially two, who can make plays in the passing game and be a capable blocker adds a layer of unpredictability to the offense. Pre-snap, defenses can’t decipher as easily whether a run or pass is coming simply based on where the tight ends are lined up.
Opponents are then forced to respect both the run and the pass on any given play, thus having to defend the entire field, which creates better spacing. Further stressing opponents is the the different skill sets Kraft and Musgrave bring, with Kraft being excellent after the catch and Musgrave a matchup nightmare downfield.
“I think it just adds to the complexity of your offense, in terms of having multiple personnel groupings,” said Matt LaFleur. “I think both those guys can do it all. I think they both will end up becoming complete tight ends in this league in terms of their ability to run block and then what they can do for you in the passing game. And I think they both have a little bit different flavor to them, which for us, allows for more flexibility on the offensive side of the ball. They’re both great dudes that love the game of football, and I think just to see where they are from a year ago, it’s night and day.”
When LaFleur took over as the head coach we often heard him discuss the ‘illusion of complexity,’ which the combination of Kraft and Musgrave enhances. The versatile duo allows the Packers to run a number of plays from just a few personnel packages and like-plays–or plays that begin similarly but end up being different–that build off each other throughout the game. All of which creates mismatches for Kraft and Musgrave to exploit and is an added stressor for opponents, keeping them guessing and off-balanced.
Tucker Kraft’s pec injury: Kraft did not participate in offseason programs due to a torn pec that he was rehabbing from. The injury happened during a routine lift.
“Just a regular lift,” Kraft said. “It was my last rep of the day on bench. Nothing crazy, not heavy weight. We were speed-benching and it just popped right off the bone.”
LaFleur said that there isn’t any “long-term concern” with Kraft’s injury and that he could even be back for the start of training camp, although if not, it does not sound like he will miss too much time.
“I’m just ready to take off in this league and establish myself as a football player, really. That’s where my frustration lies,” Kraft said.
“I was really excited about this offseason – to have the whole offseason – to get running off the football again, get my second step down, my landmark. What I want to establish this year is I want to be the best Y in the outside zone – running the ball at the tight end. That’s my individual goal for the season. That just opens up so many avenues.”
With Kraft sidelined for OTAs and minicamp, along with Tyler Davis still rehabbing from an ACL injury, that opened up an opportunity for Henry Pearson, who was the third tight end during offseason programs, behind Musgrave and Ben Sims. Pearson is listed as a fullback, and worked with Josiah Deguara during practices last season. With the H-back role presumably available, Pearson’s versatility, being able to be moved around the formation, and ability as a blocker and pass-catcher as a college tight end, make him a prime candidate to fill that role.
“He always busts his butt,” said LaFleur about Pearson. I think there’s a great opportunity for everybody here, quite frankly. And that’s one of the things that we talked to the team about. It doesn’t matter, first-rounder, UDFA, if you’re a tryout guy, you;re here for a reason. You got an opportunity and it’s really on them to go out there and showcase what they can do and you got two days to leave a pretty good impression.”
Perhaps the bigger question about this specific position is whether the Packers want to have a specific player filling that role as Deguara did. Deguara played roughly 15 snaps per game in the latter half of the season. In addition to Pearson being someone who could handle those responsibilities, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ben Sims or Tyler Davis taking snaps in that role either.
Don’t forget about Tyler Davis: In what has become a crowded and quite talented tight end room for the Packers, Tyler Davis still has the ability to carve out a role on this team.
On offense, Davis certainly won’t be the focal point at tight end, but during the 2022 season, he was most often used as a blocker. His presence could provide added competition for Ben Sims, who primarily filled a blocking role last season. Or as already mentioned, perhaps, with Davis’ athleticism and versatility, the Packers have him fill the H-back role that is now vacant.
What, if any, role Davis has on offense is still to be determined, but his calling card is on special teams, where he has filled a do-it-all role in the past. Following Davis’ season-ending injury last August, Rich Bisaccia said that losing Davis was like losing his right hand because of all the roles he’s able to fill while doing so at a high level.
In 2022, Davis played 344 special teams snaps – the most on the team – and did so across five of the six special teams phases. He was also third on the team in tackles.
“It’s always interesting,” said Davis about his role on special teams, “but that’s why I love, that’s why I love this game, the preparation is the key and I love preparing. I know it might sound like a lot to a lot of people but to me it’s what I love to do, so it’s not anything too crazy for myself. I love my roles. I love to be on everything. I love the variety I can play with and just really looking forward to getting back to that.”
Despite rehabbing from an ACL injury, Davis remained engaged and active within the Packers tight end room when possible. While he wasn’t able to be on the practice field with his teammates and fellow tight ends, as one of the veterans of that position group, Davis was still involved in meetings and able to answer questions or provide guidance when needed.
“Tyler’s a stud,” said Dunn. “He is as dedicated of an individual as they come. There’s not enough good words I can say about Tyler, just him really being one of the veterans in the room, just the guidance.”
Davis did not participate in the on-field portion of offseason programs, and a specific timetable for his return hasn’t been announced. But Davis is on the right path with his recovery. The start of Packers’ training camp will be a few weeks shy of one year from when Davis suffered the ACL injury.
“I’m feeling good,” said Davis. “Getting there. It’s just a process. Taking it day by day, trying to do the best I can each day. Everything is moving in the right direction, so excited about it.”
Ben Sims carved out a blocking specific role: A late addition to the Packers 2023 roster, Green Bay claimed Sims off waivers when he was released by Minnesota during roster cut downs.
Sims would play 212 offensive snaps last season, with nearly 65 percent of them coming as a run-blocker. By PFF’s grading system, Sims would rank 29th in run-blocking out of 83 eligible tight ends. Sims would also play a key role on special teams, on the field for 105 snaps, most of which came on the kick return unit.
Having a tight end who can handle the blocking specific duties is an important element of the LaFleur offense, a role that was previously filled by Marcedes Lewis. Sims does, however, have pass-catching upside, posting a RAS of 8.32 coming out of Baylor. He would catch five passes on six targets in 2023 for 25 yards with one touchdown.
“Growth,” said Dunn when asked what he’s seen from Sims. “You know that was interesting because obviously he comes, I think it was a week before the first game, something like that, and so Tucker and Luke are going through, and they had an offseason, they had a training camp to at least learn the system, so Ben, he’s thrown right in and didn’t blink. That’s what I love about him.
“So for him the interesting part and cool part, not to speak for him, but being here now, he wasn’t part of the offseason program last year. So kind of learning it from the level ground as opposed to the game plan and here we go is going to be really beneficial to him.”
Four or five tight ends? Potentially the big question with this position group is whether the Packers will roster four or five players at it. We know Musgrave and Kraft will be on the team, and I’m going to assume Sims will as well. But will the Packers keep both Davis and Pearson or just one of them?
If I were picking now, I would guess they keep just four and go with Davis over Pearson because of his special teams ability. For what it’s worth, in the LaFleur era, the Packers never rostered five tight ends on the initial 53-man–although in 2019 they did keep four tight ends and one fullback.
Messiah Swinson and Joel Wilson: Swinson signed as an undrafted rookie following this year’s draft. He is listed at 6-8 – 255 pounds. In four seasons, Swinson had only 42 targets, averaging 11.3 yards per catch with two touchdowns. Nearly one-third of his snaps came in the slot, but he was frequently utilized as a blocker.
The Packers signed Wilson to the practice squad last November. He went undrafted out of Central Michigan last April. Between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Wilson caught 75 out of his 105 targets at 11.0 yards per catch with 12 touchdowns. According to PFF, 45 percent of his snaps came from the slot.