Luke Musgrave is ‘different’ from other Packers tight ends

It is the very early stages of the offseason for the Green Bay Packers, but even though the pads aren’t on, and nothing that takes place on the practice field this time of the year is going to decide any roster spots or who is starting at a certain position, it’s hard to ignore rookie tight end Luke Musgrave.

Musgrave brings elite size and athleticism to the position, listed at 6’6″ and weighing 253 pounds while posting an elite Relative Athletic Score of 9.78 out of 10–the fourth-highest RAS in what was a very deep and athletic 2023 tight end draft class and includes a 4.61 second 40 time.

Unfortunately, due to an early season-ending injury in 2022 at Oregon State, we didn’t get to see in great detail what Musgrave can add to this Packers offense, but it appeared to be a breakout season in the making. In fewer than two full games, he caught 11 of 15 passes, averaged 15.4 yards per catch, and had one touchdown, according to PFF.

During Wednesday’s practice, which was open to the media, Musgrave’s ability to stretch the field was evident. He’s a smooth runner and gets down the field quickly. He also displayed soft hands on an over-the-shoulder grab and off-target completion. During team drills, he was a matchup problem with his size and speed both down the seam and over the middle on crossers.

Compared to the tight ends that the Packers have had in past seasons, as Matt LaFleur said after practice ended, Musgrave is not like anyone that Green Bay has had in recent memory.

"“He is different,” said LaFleur on Wednesday. “I think anytime with these young guys you’re going to try to throw as much at them this time of the year. But he’s a really, really intelligent player. If he makes a mistake, he definitely hasn’t made many of the same mistakes twice because he is super into it, very intentional, deliberate about his work, and invested.“He continues to show progress every day. Certainly, he does have an elite trait that he can flat fly, and he’s a big long target. We are really excited about him and the progress he has made up to this point, and we have to continue to push him.”"

Although the 2022 tight end room made up of Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis, and Josiah Deguara was reliable, what it was lacking was playmaking abilities. The only true pass-catching threat was Tonyan, whose 8.9 yards per catch ranked near the bottom of all tight ends last season, while his average depth of target was just 6.0 yards from the line of scrimmage, per PFF.

Having a presence like Musgrave in this Packers offense, who can win downfield and make plays with the ball in his hands, will stress opposing defenses by creating mismatches and lead to not only big plays for himself but also his teammates with the attention that he draws.

While Musgrave possesses a ton of upside, inevitably, there will be ups and downs experienced this season. In part because he is a rookie but also because of the position that he plays. There are a lot of responsibilities that come with playing the tight end position, making the learning curve quite steep, and it not uncommon for tight ends to take two or even three years to fully hit their stride in the NFL.

"“Well, there’s so much knowledge that you have to acquire,” said LaFleur, “in terms of your responsible in the run game, the pass game, and you might have some protection responsibility. I think outside of the quarterback position, on the offensive side of the ball, tight ends have to know the second most out of anybody because they’ve got every facet of the game.”"

Some patience will likely be required, but the new and needed dynamic element that Musgrave brings to the Packers’ tight end room will add some big play ability but also have a positive trickle-down effect to the rest of the offense, opening up the playbook for LaFleur, creating opportunities for others within the offense, along with making things a bit easier on Jordan Love as well.