Dairyland Express
Fansided

Instant Takeaways: Packers select South Dakota State TE Tucker Kraft

By Paul Bretl

South Dakota State’s Tucker Kraft uses the existing layer of snow to slide into the end zone for the first touchdown of the FCS semifinal game against Montana State on Saturday, December 17, 2022, at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, SD.Fcs Semifinals 001
South Dakota State’s Tucker Kraft uses the existing layer of snow to slide into the end zone for the first touchdown of the FCS semifinal game against Montana State on Saturday, December 17, 2022, at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, SD.Fcs Semifinals 001 /
facebooktwitterreddit

With the 78th pick in the NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers made their second tight end selection on Day, taking South Dakota State’s Tucker Kraft. Here are my instant takeaways from the pick.

– With this being one of the deeper tight end classes that we’ve seen in years, the Packers taking at least two was a must. Green Bay entered the draft with four tight ends, two of which have no NFL experience, one is an H-back and the other is a special teams player. They now have two of top six tight ends in this draft class.

– You guessed it, Kraft is another elite athlete at the tight end position. He stands 6’5” and weighs 254 pounds. In a very athletic tight end class, he posted one of the better Relative Athletic Score of 9.68, including a 40 time of 4.69-seconds. This was the fifth-highest RAS among this year’s tight ends.

– The 2021 season was Kraft’s best from a statistical standpoint, with 59 receptions on 76 targets at 11.4 yards per catch with six touchdowns. He missed time this past season due to injury, but was incredibly efficient, averaging an whopping 8.0 yards after the catch and 2.11 yards per route. He also ranked 38th out of 200 tight ends in PFF’s run-blocking grade and is physical in that aspect of the game.

– With his ability to impact the passing game with the ball in his hands and being a capable blocker, Kraft adds some needed unpredictability to the tight end position for the Packers. As I wrote about previously, with Robert Tonyan as the main pass catcher, along with Marcedes Lewis and Josiah Deguara being blockers, there wasn’t a lot of mystery in how the Packers were going to utilize these three. Having a more well-rounded player can open up the playbook for Matt LaFleur and help keep defenses off-balance.

– If the Packers are going to take one more tight end at some point in this draft, selecting a traditional Y-tight end to compliment Kraft and Luke Musgrave would make a lot of sense.

– Kraft brings versatility to the position that we know the Packers covet, having played about one-third of his career snaps from the slot, 12% from the boundary, and the rest in-line. Between Kraft, Musgrave, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Jaylen Reed, Green Bay has a ton of flexibility to mix and match how they utilize their personnel.

– As a tight end and top athlete, Kraft has the potential to be a key contributor on the Packers’ special teams unit.

– For more on Kraft’s game and what he can add to the Packers offense, Lance Zierlein wrote this in his pre-draft report:

"“Combination tight end with the projectable skill set to handle pass-catching and run-blocking duties at the next level. Currently, he’s a more effective blocker in space than in-line, but that is correctable with better hand usage and proper angles of entry into his base blocks. Kraft provides formational versatility that will be appealing for teams that make heavy use of 12 personnel (two tight ends). He has the body control and catch toughness to be more than just a traditional Y tight end. Kraft has Day 2 talent and should see the field early with a chance to become a TE1.“"

Home/Green Bay Packers