Grading the 2023 Packers: Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft and Tight Ends

Luke Musgrave had a hot first half of the season. Tucker Kraft had a hot second half. Combined, the Packers might have an elite tandem.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – As anyone who plays fantasy football can attest, impact tight ends are hard to find.

However, the NFL might be entering a bit of a golden age at the position. In 2020, three had 70-plus receptions. A decade earlier, four had 70. This year, nine had at least 70.

While none of Green Bay’s tight ends put up those kinds of numbers, the Packers have a potentially dominant duo with Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft.

Bubba Franks entered the season with the franchise rookie records for a tight end with 34 receptions for 363 yards in 2000. Musgrave, even after missing six games with a lacerated kidney, tied Franks’ record with 34 receptions for 352 yards. With a huge boost in playing time after Musgrave’s injury, Kraft added 31 receptions for 355 yards.

Here is a closer look in Part 3 of our postseason grades. Because finances are such a vital component in building a roster, our grades are based on impact relative to the salary cap.

Luke Musgrave

2023 cap: $1,541,044. Position rank: 44th, according to OverTheCap.com.

Musgrave was the fourth tight end off the board at No. 42 overall, behind Buffalo’s Dalton Kincaid, Detroit’s Sam LaPorta and Las Vegas’ Michael Mayer but ahead of Dallas’ Luke Schoonmaker, Jacksonville’s Brenton Strange and Pittsburgh’s Darnell Washington.

In the draft class, Musgrave finished third with 34 receptions, fourth with 352 yards and sixth with 1.28 yards per route. He had just one drop (2.9 percent), averaged 10.4 yards per catch and caught 75.6 percent of targeted passes.

The kidney injury impacted his numbers not just from an opportunities perspective but because he was just getting rolling. More than just a tall, athletic pass-catcher, he was a feisty run blocker. Other than to give him a breather, there’s really no reason to ever take him off the field.

Musgrave got a lot of grief for catching and falling on a deep pass at Chicago in Week 1 (and a few other occasions) but he had an impressive touchdown catch against the Rams and finished the job on his touchdown grab in the playoffs at Dallas, too. If Musgrave can develop into even a decent YAC threat, look out.

Grade: B-minus.

Josiah Deguara

2023 cap: $1,341,867. Position rank: 48th, according to OverTheCap.com.

Deguara is as much a tight end as I am a novelist. During training camp, the team listed him as a fullback on the Packers.com roster, which always seemed logical. According to PFF, his 196 snaps were split among tight end (67), slot receiver (66), fullback (51) and receiver (12).

He caught 8-of-8 targets for 65 yards. He never saw the ball after the Nov. 5 victory over the Rams.

A third-round pick in 2020, Deguara is headed to free agency. He was a useful role player even though he never contributed much from a statistical perspective. Undrafted rookie Henry Pearson spent the year on the practice squad and could be ready to take over.

Grade: D-plus.

Tucker Kraft

2023 cap: $1,006,897. Position rank: 77th, according to OverTheCap.com.

The seventh tight end off the board, Kraft caught 31 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 11.5 yards per catch, caught 79.5 percent of targeted passes and had one drop (3.1 percent). Strange (drafted before Kraft) and Washington (drafted after) combined for 12 catches.

It really was quite a season for Kraft. The first four games, he played 38 snaps. Eventually, Kraft was ready for a bigger role. Good thing, too. When Musgrave suffered his kidney injury against the Chargers in Game 10, it was all Kraft, all the time. In each of the final seven regular-season games, Kraft played at least 54 snaps, including all 68 against the Giants. The production jumped just as swiftly. Through the first nine games, Kraft caught three passes. During the final eight games, he caught 28-of-35 passes for 344 yards.

Musgrave is a superb athlete. Kraft is a different challenge. He forced five missed tackles and averaged 7.5 YAC – tops in the draft class and No. 1 overall among the 45 tight ends with 30-plus targets. A quality blocker, as well, the arrow is pointed straight up.

Grade: B.

Ben Sims

2023 cap: $750,000. Position rank: 105th, according to OverTheCap.com.

The Packers bought Sims in for a predraft visit. The Baylor product went undrafted and signed with the Vikings. When he was released at the end of training camp, the Packers claimed him off waivers.

He caught 4-of-6 passes for 21 yards for the season, including a 1-yard touchdown against the Chiefs that led to an emotional Lambeau Leap.

Used almost exclusively as an old-school, in-line tight end, Sims has a nice future if he can take his point-of-attack blocking up another notch.

Grade: C.

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