All-NFC North Tight End: No Love for Musgrave, Kraft

The Lions’ Sam LaPorta is the first-team tight end for SI.com’s All-NFC North team, while the Packers’ Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft couldn’t break through at a strong position group.

Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave (88) catches a touchdown against Dallas Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse during their playoff game. / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Not only does the NFC North have a batch of , but it’s got a batch of powerful young tight ends, too.

While the Green Bay Packers might have the best young tight end duo in the NFL, that wasn’t enough to earn Luke Musgrave or Tucker Kraft a spot on Sports Illustrated’s All-NFC North team.

Bill Huber from Packers on SI, John Maakaron from Lions on SI, Gene Chamberlain from Bears on SI and Joe Nelson from Vikings on SI each picked four tight ends. A first-place vote was worth one point, a second-place vote was worth two points and so on.

The Detroit Lions’ Sam LaPorta received three first-place votes and six points for the first-team spot. The 34th overall pick and the second tight end drafted in 2023, LaPorta was voted All-Rookie, Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro. His 86 receptions were the most ever by a rookie tight end.

Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson received the other first-place vote and seven points. Hockenson, who is entering Year 6 and turned 27 last week, caught 95 passes in 15 games before suffering a torn ACL.

Chicago’s Cole Kmet received one second-place vote and 11 points. The 25-year-old caught 73 passes last year, his fourth in the NFL.

Musgrave, a second-round pick and the fourth tight end selected, picked up a pair of fourth-place votes and finished fourth. Kraft, a third-round pick and the seventh tight end selected, did not receive any votes.

Even while missing six games with a lacerated spleen, Musgrave matched Bubba Franks’ franchise rookie record for most receptions by a rookie tight end with 34. That figure ranked third in the draft class. He added a 38-yard touchdown in the playoffs.

Even while barely getting on the field to start the season, Kraft’s 31 receptions ranked third in franchise history by a rookie tight end and his 355 yards finished second. Drafted between Musgrave and Kraft were Luke Schoonmaker by the Cowboys and Brenton Strange by the Jaguars; drafted after Kraft was Darnell Washington by the Steelers. Combined, those three caught only 20 passes.

Having played well individually, they are looking forward to playing well together after not getting many opportunities to do so as rookies. What would that do for the offense?

“We don’t know yet, but it’s going to be a surprise. A nice one,” Kraft said. “We’ll be able to rotate the scheme around. We do so much run blocking, we run so much play pass, that it just opens up so much for run game and pass game.”

All-NFC North First-Team TE: Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

By John Maakaron

LaPorta wasted very little time adapting to the NFL world, as he had a record-setting rookie campaign in 2023. He proved to be an exceptional piece within the offense and was ahead of the curve as a run blocker. While his numbers in college weren’t ideal in Iowa’s struggling offense, he performed at an elite level in his first NFL season. 

The Lions elected to not add a free agent at wide receiver after the departure of Josh Reynolds, so even more targets could be coming LaPorta’s way in 2024. He proved himself worthy of this workload after an 86-catch debut season and another 21 receptions in three playoff games.

He has reliable hands as well as yards-after-catch ability, which makes him a big-play threat. Additionally, LaPorta demonstrated an excellent rapport with Jared Goff. He gives the offense a solid security blanket when other options such as Amon-Ra St. Brown are taken away.

Last season, LaPorta was a second-team All-Pro selection. He is the latest tight end to be successful after playing collegiately at Iowa, joining fellow NFC North standout and former Lions star T.J. Hockenson. He appears poised for another big year in 2024.

More Green Bay Packers News

The depth and talent of the #Packers’ receiver corps is real. And it’s spectacular.

Here is Part 3 of our training camp position previews. ⬇️https://t.co/hduCYN0Nn8

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 11, 2024

Training camp previews: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Receivers

All-NFC North Team: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Receivers | Tight ends (Thursday)

Best/worst case for rookies: Jordan Morgan | Edgerrin Cooper | Javon Bullard

Hot Reads: ESPN’s playmaker rankings | Four biggest changes | 12 Super Bowl contenders | Josh Jacobs in ESPN rankings | Two months to Packers-Eagles | Most overrated player |  They’ll provide the fireworks | “Sky is the limit” for Packers

Most Important Packers: 21-24 | 25-29 | 30-34 | 35-39 | 40-44 | 45-49 | 50-54 | 55-59 | 60-64 | 65-69 | 70-79 | 80-90