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The Green Bay Packers need to go out and get another tight end for the 2025 NFL season.
Head coach Matt LaFleur was clear in his post-season comments that he feels he can use the position to a higher degree in 2025 and beyond, and for as good as Tucker Kraft has played, you can never have enough help on the depth chart for a team that wants to contend for the Super Bowl.
And again, it's worth noting that the soon-to-be third-year tight end, Kraft, is already a borderline superstar. He caught 50 passes this past season for 707 yards and seven touchdowns. He was seventh amongst all NFL tight ends in yardage and sixth in touchdown catches. That put him amongst the ranks of Mark Andrews — pre-playoff drop — George Kittle, Brock Bowers, Travis Kelce, Sam LaPorta, and Jonnu Smith.
Those are some of the biggest tight end names in the game right now, and Kraft belongs right alongside of them.
There is a world in which he can get even better in 2025 and beyond, though. In fact, that should be the expectation in Green Bay because, as mentioned, Kraft has absolutely displayed superstar potential.
Kraft's ability to break out is what makes it so imperative for the Packers to add another tight end during this 2025 offseason, though. Whether it's via free agency or the draft, the Pack needs to find someone next to him who can be a consistent TE2. Heck, even a strong TE3 could be extremely valuable with a creative play-caller like LaFleur at the helm, considering his desire to use the tight end more in 2025. Throw that all together, and General Manager Brian Gutekunst needs to load up at tight end this offseason.
Matt LaFleur wants to utilize tight end better for Packers
LaFleur was asked after the season if he believed Kraft could have a Kittle or Kelce-esque impact for the Packers moving forward.
“I think that's on us to make sure we find him and feature him because … when he gets the ball in his hands, you feel him,” LaFleur said of Kraft, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “So if there's an area that we gotta do a better job on, I would say featuring the tight end.”
That's a direct answer on Kraft, but if there's one thing better than one great tight end it's two tight ends who can bust a game open. Think about how LaFleur has decided to build his offense in 2024, too. The Packers have gone run heavy with Josh Jacobs as the feature back, and if this past season was any indication, they'll continue to do so as long as Jacobs is healthy in 2025 and beyond.
That means the play-action pass should be hot for the Packers moving forward, and with Jordan Love's athleticism when he's healthy, a play-action run game featuring two tight ends could create chaos for defensive coordinators facing the Packers.
Getting that TE2 right is crucial, which brings us to our second point.
Luke Musgrave is still an unknown for the Packers
Kraft has blossomed into a star, which makes it easy to forget that second-round pick Luke Musgrave was actually supposed to be the breakout tight end of Green Bay's 2023 draft (Kraft was selected in the third round).
Musgrave showed some play-making potential as a rookie — catching 34 passes for 352 yards and a touchdown — but for as much speed and athleticism that he had, he never seemed to be able to put it all together. Unfortunately, Musgrave missed much of 2024 with a torn tendon in his left ankle, and when he did play, he caught just seven passes for 45 yards in seven games.
The Packers hope they have a strong one-two punch with Kraft and Musgrave, but Musgrave is still far too much of an unknown for Green Bay to be able to count on that heading into 2025.
There are some good TE options out there for the Packers
The Packers have roughly $40 million in cap space heading into 2025, and although they do have bigger needs than tight end — namely pass-rusher and wideout — Gutekunst could spend a bit of that extra cash on bringing in Kraft an established partner in crime.
If the Washington Commanders let Zach Ertz walk — which is admittedly unlikely — he should be priority No. 1 for the Packers at tight end. He caught 66 passes for 654 yards and seven touchdowns this season and was a safety net for rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. He could play that role for Love and the Packers, and at 34 years old, he'd bring some much-needed veteran presence to the Packers' offense.
Austin Hooper could be an interesting TE2 option for the Packers as well. He didn't have a stable quarterback situation with the New England Patriots for much of 2024 but still caught 45 passes for 476 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 10.6 yards per catch. That's strong TE2 production, and having that type of threat alongside Kraft will only serve to make Green Bay's offense better.
There are, of course, mid-round tight ends the Packers could target in the 2025 NFL Draft as well. An intriguing name in that regard for the Packers would be Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who fits Green Bay's mold as a small school tight end. He caught 117 passes for 1,555 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and may be able to be had in the third round of the upcoming draft.
The point is this. No matter where they look, the Packers will have options to bolster the tight end position.
