The Green Bay Packers’ offense has been one of the most creative since Matt LaFleur took over as head coach in 2019. While the Packers have a strong traditional running game with Josh Jacobs as the anchor, they also can find new ways to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers, including Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, and Romeo Doubs.
With Matthew Golden and Savion Williams coming into the fold, training camp will present LaFleur with even more ways to get creative. But one playmaker found himself in a surprising new role for the Packers as they held their first training camp practice on Wednesday.
Tucker Kraft Takes Reps at Kick Returner During Packers Training Camp
According to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Packers tight end Tucker Kraft took a rep at kick returner during Wednesday’s practice. A 6-foot-4, 254-pound tight end doesn’t seem like a prototypical return man in today’s NFL. But Kraft’s athleticism could make him a sneaky candidate for the job.
Tucker Kraft just took a rep at kick returner.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) July 23, 2025
Kraft’s relative athletic score of 9.68 coming out of South Dakota State ranked 36th out of 1,105 tight ends from 1987 to 2023. While his 4.69-second time in the 40-yard dash seems slow, he unofficially ran a 40-yard dash between 4.49 and 4.54 seconds during SDSU’s pro day in 2023. He was also a wildcat quarterback during his high school career and has already been used creatively in a quarterback sneak package in his collegiate and professional careers.
It’s also just a good idea to get the ball into Kraft’s hands. After catching 31 passes for 355 yards and a pair of touchdowns during his rookie season, Kraft broke out with 50 catches for 707 yards and seven touchdowns last fall. He also has the most receptions (81) and receiving yards (1,062) for a Packers tight end in the first two years of his career and is second behind Richard Rodgers and Bubba Franks (10) with nine receiving touchdowns.
This is all great. But what is Kraft doing returning kicks?
The Packers signed Mecole Hardman to be their primary kick returner this spring but there’s a chance he may not make the roster out of camp. Keisean Nixon and Reed are also candidates to return kicks, but Green Bay may want to keep that duo fresh as their top cornerback and wide receiver entering the season. And while Kraft hasn’t returned a kick in the NFL, he returned two in his time with the Jackrabbits – although both were onside kicks.
Perhaps Green Bay wanted to add Kraft as an extra blocker on kick returns and let whoever returns kicks handle the returning. But it’s clear the Packers want to find ways to get Kraft more involved this season, even if it’s in an unorthodox situation.