Throughout the offseason, the Green Bay Packers wanted to find a No. 1 wide receiver. Josh Jacobs called for the Packers to get one. The receivers on the team claimed they were one. The Packers even took two in the first three rounds of the draft – including their first first-round receiver since 2002 – to solve the problem. But the answer may not have been a wide receiver at all.
Tucker Kraft enjoyed a breakout performance in Thursday night’s 27-18 win over the Washington Commanders, notching his first career 100-yard game and perhaps staking his claim as Jordan Love’s top target.
Packers TE Tucker Kraft Looks Like a Future Star After Monster Performance
Kraft has been ascending in his first two seasons after becoming a second-round pick out of South Dakota State. His rookie campaign was flanked with modest production, catching 31 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns, but he took a step forward last season with 50 catches for 707 yards and seven touchdowns.
Missing the playoffs prompted Kraft to take a leadership role during the offseason and perhaps the talk of finding a No. 1 receiver may have convinced Kraft to do it himself. After catching two passes for 16 yards in the season-opening win over the Detroit Lions, Kraft erupted for six catches for 124 yards and a touchdown in the win over Washington.
It wasn’t just that Kraft helped a lot of people get off to a great start in their fantasy football matchups. It was how the Packers were using him.
Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette noted that Kraft had only 10 targets of 10 yards or more last season but he took his first one on Thursday night for a 57-yard reception that set up a Love touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs with 4:33 left in the first quarter. It was also a sign of his usage as Kraft’s average depth of target of 9.8 yards is double the 4.7-yard average he put up last season.
When the Commanders made it a 17-10 game on a Zach Ertz touchdown early in the fourth quarter, Kraft was the one that responded, hauling in an eight-yard touchdown pass for a 24-10 lead with 8:57 to play.
Kraft’s 124 receiving yards were the most by a Packers tight end since Richard Rodgers had 146 yards in a win over the Detroit Lions on Dec. 12, 2015. It’s also the fifth-most receiving yards by a Green Bay tight end in franchise history. That list is filled with names that Packers fans spit out at a bonfire like Jermichael Finley, Jackie Harris and Carroll Dale, but it’s unlikely that Kraft’s big game is a one-time thing.
In his third season, a breakout is expected and Kraft could be on his way toward becoming Green Bay’s top target and perhaps one of the NFL’s elite tight ends.