We may have a significant development with the Green Bay tight ends. It had the pair of effective rookies last year, but one of those guys – Tucker Kraft – has torn a pectoral muscle.
The injury could lift their remaining tight end (Luke Musgrave) into a more prominent role. Yesterday at this time, I was concerned that both of these tight ends would be involved heavily, making it tough for either to finish with notable numbers. I feel better about selecting Musgrave (as a second tight end) today than I did previously.
Per SI.com, Kraft says he injured his chest on the bench press.
“Just a regular lift,” he 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.”
With training camp about two months away, and the season starting in just over three, it’s reasonable to wonder if Kraft will even be in uniform when the Packers open the season in Brazil in early September.
Both of these tight ends showed some potential last year. Musgrave opened the season as the starter. Setting aside a game he left early with a concussion, he caught 32 passes for 340 yards and a touchdown in his nine full games as their starter (he played in a more limited role in four other games). He’s shown some ability to get downfield for longer catches.
Kraft began the season as a reserve but after the injury also got nine full games where he was their starter-type guy. He caught 31 passes for 336 yards and 3 TDs in those games.
If we take each of those nine games (which include postseason stats) and project them over a full 17-game season, both Kraft and Musgrave last year rank among the top-20 rookie tight ends of the 32-team era using PPR scoring. (That’s after taking the stats for all tight ends playing over half of their teams’ games and projecting everyone to 17 games.)
| FULL-SEASON PRODUCTION RATES / ROOKIE TIGHT ENDS (2002-) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | G | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR |
| 2023 | Sam LaPorta, Det. | 17 | 86.0 | 889.0 | 10.0 | 239.3 |
| 2013 | Jordan Reed, Was. | 9 | 85.0 | 942.6 | 5.7 | 216.7 |
| 2002 | Jeremy Shockey, NYG | 15 | 83.9 | 1013.2 | 2.3 | 198.8 |
| 2017 | Evan Engram, NYG | 15 | 72.5 | 818.3 | 6.8 | 196.7 |
| 2021 | Kyle Pitts, Atl. | 17 | 68.0 | 1026.0 | 1.0 | 176.6 |
| 2010 | Aaron Hernandez, N.E. | 14 | 54.6 | 683.6 | 7.3 | 172.4 |
| 2010 | Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 16 | 44.6 | 580.1 | 10.6 | 166.4 |
| 2021 | Pat Freiermuth, Pitt. | 16 | 63.8 | 528.1 | 7.4 | 163.3 |
| 2023 | Dalton Kincaid, Buff. | 16 | 77.6 | 715.1 | 2.1 | 161.8 |
| 2008 | John Carlson, Sea. | 16 | 58.4 | 666.2 | 5.3 | 156.9 |
| 2023 | Kraft (full games) | 9 | 58.6 | 634.7 | 5.7 | 156.0 |
| 2013 | Tim Wright, T.B. | 16 | 57.4 | 606.7 | 5.3 | 150.1 |
| 2016 | Hunter Henry, S.D. | 15 | 40.8 | 541.7 | 9.1 | 149.4 |
| 2022 | Greg Dulcich, Den. | 10 | 56.1 | 698.7 | 3.4 | 146.4 |
| 2019 | Kaden Smith, NYG | 9 | 58.6 | 506.2 | 5.7 | 143.2 |
| 2010 | Jermaine Gresham, Cin. | 15 | 58.9 | 533.8 | 4.5 | 141.8 |
| 2015 | Will Tye, NYG | 13 | 54.9 | 606.8 | 3.9 | 139.1 |
| 2010 | Tony Moeaki, K.C. | 15 | 53.3 | 630.1 | 3.4 | 136.7 |
| 2023 | Musgrave (full games) | 9 | 60.4 | 642.2 | 1.9 | 136.0 |
| 2005 | Heath Miller, Pitt. | 16 | 41.4 | 487.7 | 6.4 | 128.5 |
| 2017 | O.J. Howard, T.B. | 14 | 31.6 | 524.6 | 7.3 | 127.7 |
| 2008 | Dustin Keller, NYJ | 16 | 51.0 | 568.4 | 3.2 | 127.0 |
| 2012 | Dwayne Allen, Ind. | 16 | 47.8 | 553.6 | 3.2 | 122.8 |
| 2017 | George Kittle, S.F. | 15 | 48.7 | 583.7 | 2.3 | 120.7 |
| 2006 | Owen Daniels, Hou. | 14 | 41.3 | 427.4 | 6.1 | 120.5 |
| 2018 | Chris Herndon, NYJ | 16 | 41.4 | 533.4 | 4.3 | 120.3 |
| 2019 | Noah Fant, Den. | 16 | 42.5 | 597.1 | 3.2 | 120.1 |
| 2002 | Randy McMichael, Mia. | 16 | 41.4 | 515.3 | 4.3 | 119.3 |
| 2009 | Brandon Pettigrew, Det. | 11 | 46.4 | 534.7 | 3.1 | 118.4 |
| 2003 | Dallas Clark, Ind. | 10 | 49.3 | 578.0 | 1.7 | 117.3 |
| 2019 | T.J. Hockenson, Det. | 12 | 45.3 | 519.9 | 2.8 | 114.3 |
| 2018 | Mark Andrews, Balt. | 16 | 36.1 | 586.5 | 3.2 | 113.9 |
| 2013 | Zach Ertz, Phil. | 16 | 38.3 | 498.3 | 4.3 | 113.6 |
| 2007 | Zach Miller, Oak. | 16 | 46.8 | 471.8 | 3.2 | 113.1 |
| 2007 | Greg Olsen, Chi. | 14 | 47.4 | 474.8 | 2.4 | 111.8 |
| 2004 | Chris Cooley, Was. | 16 | 39.3 | 333.6 | 6.4 | 110.9 |
| 2006 | Vernon Davis, S.F. | 10 | 34.0 | 450.5 | 5.1 | 110.5 |
| 2010 | Jimmy Graham, N.O. | 15 | 35.1 | 403.5 | 5.7 | 109.8 |
| 2013 | Mychal Rivera, Oak. | 16 | 40.4 | 432.4 | 4.3 | 109.1 |
| 2022 | Daniel Bellinger, NYG | 12 | 42.5 | 379.7 | 4.3 | 109.1 |
—Ian Allan