Tucker Kraft is one of the most important pieces to the Packers offense.
Kraft has everything you want out of the tight end.
Physically, he has the size and speed to be a dangerous Tight End.
On the field he’s someone the Packers can depend on and it shows in his play.
But against the Panthers, Kraft may have seen his last action on the field for a while.
During Sundays loss against the Panthers, Kraft suffered a knee injury.
An injury that coach Matt LaFleur said “didn’t look good”.
The initial fear is that Kraft suffered a season ending torn ACL.
On Monday, it was confirmed that Kraft suffered a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season.
What a difference a week makes for Kraft.
Just a week ago i wrote an article about how Kraft was lighting it up against the Steelers.
But what does this mean for the Packers going forward?
Who do the Packers turn to?
Obviously it will be nearly impossible to replicate what Tucker Kraft has produced and brought to the Packers.
But the Packers do have some one capable to take over for Kraft already on the roster.
Luke Musgrave has really gotten lost in the folder as Kraft has developed these past two years.
But remember when Musgrave was a rookie and he was putting up numbers?
Back in 2023, Musgrave was having a good season.
He finished the season with 34 receptions for 352 yards and 1 touchdown.
But the majority of those numbers was put up before injuries put him out for a few games.
By the time Musgrave came back, Kraft had already developed into what the Packers wanted at Tight End.
Since then Musgrave has battled injuries that have really hampered his performance.
He’s also been the subject of possible trade bate ahead of the trade deadline.
But now with the injury to Tucker Kraft the Packers need Musgrave more than ever.
How can Musgrave help?
One thing the Musgrave can help with is be a pass option for Jordan Love.
Most of the time, the tight end can be the safety valve for the QB and that’s what Kraft was to Love.
For Musgrave he can also be that safe outlet for Love, especially on third downs.
We saw a little bit of that during his rookie year in Love’s first season as the starting QB.
We also saw during his rookie year how much of a deep threat Musgrave can be.
Now, Kraft wasn’t a deep threat, but more of a possession receiver.
But if Musgrave can be a deep threat for Love, it will give him another receiver to “take the top off” of defenses.
Musgrave though has to work his blocking.
The main reason why the Packers liked Kraft over Musgrave is they saw that Kraft can block.
If Musgrave wants to become more than just a receiving tight end, he needs to be better blocker in both the run and pass.
Conclusion
Losing Tucker Kraft is a big loss for the Packers.
Not only do you lose a great player, you also lose a great locker room leader.
While it will be hard to replace Tucker Kraft, Musgrave is capable to be the teams staring Tight End.
We saw flashes of it his rookie season before he got injured.
While Kraft took over and filled in for him admirably, Musgrave has a chance to do the same for Kraft this year.
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