Green Bay Packers fans headed into Sunday's clash against the rival Minnesota Vikings, hoping to see some signs of life from the tight end room. The Packers' TE situation has not been ideal since Tucker Kraft went down with a season-ending ACL tear earlier this month, vaulting Luke Musgrave into the TE1 spot without much success to show for it.
Unfortunately, Musgrave couldn't find a way to stand out in the Packers' 23-6 blowout win over the Vikings. The third-year pass-catcher was only targeted twice on Sunday afternoon, catching just one ball for seven yards. Even though Green Bay ultimately emerged victorious, it's hard to feel confident about Musgrave as the team's top tight end moving forward.
Packers Nearing Breaking Point with Luke Musgrave After Week 12 Dud
It'd be one thing if Musgrave's lackluster effort was coming as a rookie, but this is Year 3. He's spent that same amount of time in the Packers organization as Kraft, who was picked 36 picks later in the same draft, which has only added to fans' frustration.
Since Kraft's last game (Week 9 vs. the Caroline Panthers), Musgrave has struggled to help move the offensive needle. The former Oregon State TE is now up to only five catches on seven targets for 29 receiving yards in the three subsequent games, often appearing completely invisible on the field. In fact, he has noticeably more games with single-digit or zero yards (8) than double-digit performances (3) this season.
Musgrave also isn't being used as often as a blocker, seeing only 15 pass protection snaps all season with zero coming on Sunday afternoon, according to Pro Football Focus. He's played to an abysmal 47.3 run block grade, too, so it's easy to see why head coach Matt LaFleur isn't giving him more opportunities to help the backfield (10.4 per game).
It's clear that Musgrave isn't the player the Packers thought they were getting when they spent a second-round pick on him. It's also obvious that Green Bay isn't eager to waste coaching resources to develop him, or else he'd have a bigger role during Kraft's absence. Instead, it seems like LaFleur & Co. are content with giving him small responsibilities and hoping that he doesn't screw them up too much.
Much to Musgrave's doubters' dismay, there isn't much the Packers can do at TE right now. With Kraft sidelined, Josh Whyle and John FitzPatrick are the only other healthy tight ends on the roster, and neither is a needle-mover.
McCallan Castles and Drake Dabney are on the practice squad, but you can also understand if the coaches don't want to throw an inexperienced player into the spotlight when the playoffs are almost here.
With that being said, the Packers will have no choice but to keep putting their faith in Musgrave. He hasn't rewarded their unwavering trust so far; however, there isn't a clear path to an upgrade this late in the season. Hopefully, he figures things out soon and starts becoming a productive roster member down the stretch.
Otherwise, the Packers' offensive ceiling could be in trouble.