The Green Bay Packers are not shy about the potential they see in Tucker Kraft entering his third season, or how they plan to help him elevate his game to the next level.
After a breakout campaign in 2024, Kraft is looking to take another step and become one of the best receiving tight ends in the NFL, and the area he needs to focus on to achieve this is clear.
Green Bay’s coaches are looking for ways to get Kraft more involved deeper downfield in 2025, after he has thrived mostly as a run after catch threat so far.
Back in the spring, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich admitted the coaching staff “spent some time” during the offseason on identifying how they can get even more out of Kraft and “find different ways to get him the ball.”
Kraft himself is aware of how his usage has manifested, and wants to keep pushing the envelope. He told the media earlier this offseason: “Most of my game was checkdowns underneath and yards after catch ability, so I’m looking to put it all together.”
Head coach Matt LaFleur was asked on Thursday whether he believes there is more potential to get Kraft involved downfield. His response: “Absolutely, I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he’s going to become.
“Certainly we have to do a good job of giving him opportunities. He’s been able to show some of the things and he’s really grown as a complete football player, but specifically in the passing game.”
Through two seasons, 101 of Kraft’s 118 targets have been in the short area (0-10 yards) or behind the line of scrimmage. His ability to break tackles and pick up yards has suited this approach, and he has often been asked to chip block before going out on a route, which is not necessarily conducive to getting downfield.
Kraft only had eight intermediate targets (11-20 yards) between 2023 and 2024. For context, Travis Kelce led the league with 81 during that period. Kraft ranked in just the 4th percentile among qualified tight ends in average depth of target (ADOT) in 2024 and the 6th percentile in 2024.
While he has been effective when running deep routes, ranking 7th in the league in 2023 and 1st in 2024 in yards per route run in that area, he has not been utilized extensively, with nine deep targets since 2023.
Even if the Packers do intend to use Kraft more downfield, it may be easier said than done with so many mouths to feed in the offense.
The field-stretching tight end role has been filled by Luke Musgrave when he has been healthy. Musgrave had eight deep targets as a rookie, and Green Bay’s coaches have indicated they still want him to be a big part of the offense.
Based on their natural skill sets, it may make more sense for Musgrave to continue operating as the deep threat and Kraft taking more of the responsibilities in terms of blocking, catching short passes and picking up YAC.
It will be interesting to see if Kraft’s usage noticeably changes throughout training camp.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers look to expand Tucker Kraft’s passing game role in 2025 after breakout season
Reporting by Mark Oldacres, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
