Paul Bretl | 8/23/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — After working his way back from an offseason pectoral injury, Packers’ tight end Tucker Kraft returned to team drills last week. Now, with several practices under his belt, he has seemingly hit his stride, adding another big play threat to the Packers’ passing game.
“It’s great to get him back out there in those 11-on-11 drills and he’s been chomping at the bit, as you know and working really hard,” said Matt LaFleur recently.
During Tuesday’s team practice, Kraft had a pair of receptions during the 11-on-11 periods. Both were receptions around the line of scrimmage that Kraft was then able to turn into sizeable gains with his yards after the catch (YAC) ability. To put it simply, he looks quite explosive right now.
Then, in Thursday’s joint practice with Baltimore, in what was an efficient day overall for the offense, Kraft was a favorite target of Jordan Love’s. According to Packer Central’s Bill Huber, Kraft caught five passes in that joint practice. One was a screen in the red zone where Kraft broke a tackle and scored a touchdown. Later on, he had two other receptions on pass plays over the middle, one of which went for 20 yards.
In a third-down drill, Kraft caught a pass that moved the chains. Lastly, in the move-the-ball period, Kraft had another 20 yard reception.
“Tucker looks great,” said Love after Thursday’s practice. “Since he’s been back out there, we’ve felt his presence — for sure. And I think he’s hit the ground running. I think he has some fresh legs right now after missing a little bit but he looks great out there. It’s very apparent on the field and it’s great to have him back.”
This YAC ability that we are seeing from Kraft in practices and his overall impact on the passing game isn’t anything new. During the second half of the 2023 season when Kraft was thrust into a larger role while Luke Musgrave was sidelined, he acclimated himself quickly to the Packers’ passing game.
From Week 12 on, Kraft caught 28 of his 36 targets for 327 yards and two touchdowns. During that span, Kraft ranked 10th among tight ends in targets, eighth in yards and was sixth in YAC.
“Well, I just, really I just took what opportunity I had and I ran with it,” said Kraft about his rookie season. “There was a point in the season last year where I had to look myself in the mirror and say if I’m only going to get opportunities to run block and pass pro then I’m going to be the best on our team in run block and pass pro.
“So those opportunities carried through three weeks and my career changed with a flat route. I didn’t have to have a coach try to get me open, I got myself open. Caught a ball in the flat, turned up and I stepped out of bounds, but it was a play that was able to highlight my athleticism and the potential that I could–the impact that I could make in this offense.”
What makes Kraft a real weapon for this offense is his well-rounded skill set that allows him leave his mark on both the running and passing games. Having a tight end who is capable in each of those areas can do wonders for an offense, specifically for Matt LaFleur has the play-caller, as having that element helps open up the playbook for him from a creativity standpoint.
A tight end with these capabilities 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, and opportunities for not only the tight end but the other skill position players within the offense.
“I think he’s a complete tight end and I think he’s only scratching the surface of what he’s capable of doing,” LaFleur said. “I think when you look back last year, I mean it’s night and day from where he is now from where he was at this time. Just the familiarity with the offense, the confidence I would say from going out there and playing at a high level, so we’re excited to get him back in the fold.”
Kraft, along with Luke Musgrave, are both going to be big factors in the Packers’ offense this season, even with all the talent at the receiver position. According to Sumer Sports, 32 percent of the Packers snaps in 2023 came with two tight ends on the field. Behind 11 personnel, this was the offense’s second-most utilized personnel package and only two teams used two tight end sets more than the Packers.
Having Kraft full healthy for the start of the season will allow the Packers to have both him and Luke Musgrave at full strength and playing their best football–something that did not occur often last season. When the two were healthy early on, Kraft hadn’t had his breakout moment yet. Then as Kraft emerged, Musgrave was sidelined with an injury.
Everything previously described about the impact a do-it-all tight end can have is magnified when you have two tight ends who can contribute in that capacity, especially with Kraft and Musgrave bringing different skill sets to the table, with Kraft very good after the catch and Musgrave able to stretch the field.
“No, I don’t,” said LaFleur when asked if the offense had the best versions of Musgrave and Kraft together last season. “It seemed like they were all kind of like going out at different times. Obviously, Luke missed quite a bit towards the end of the season, so yeah, to have both of those guys at full strength I think can definitely change the complexion of our offense.”