Packers Training Camp Preview: Tight Ends

With Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft back for Year 2, the Green Bay Packers will start training camp on July 22 with a dynamic duo of tight ends.

Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave (88) catches a pass against the Dallas Cowboys during their playoff game. / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers arrived at training camp last summer with high hopes for rookie tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. When they arrive for the start of training camp this month, they will have high expectations for their dynamic duo.

Here is a closer look in our Packers training camp preview of the tight ends.

Packers Tight Ends Depth Chart

Luke Musgrave: A second-round pick, Musgrave needed 11 games to tie Bubba Franks’ franchise record for most receptions by a rookie tight end: Despite missing a big chunk of the second half of the season with a lacerated spleen, Musgrave caught 34 passes for 352 yards and one touchdown. He added six receptions for 66 yards and one touchdown in the playoffs. The touchdowns hint at the possibilities for Musgrave as a big-play threat: 20 yards against the Rams in the regular season and 38 yards against the Cowboys in the postseason.

Tucker Kraft: Musgrave’s pain was Kraft’s gain, with almost all of his 31 receptions for 355 yards coming after Musgrave’s injury. The third-round pick caught 28 passes in the final eight games. In the last five games, among all tight ends Kraft ranked seventh with 21 receptions, sixth with 260 yards and third with 161 yards after the catch. If Musgrave wins with graceful athleticism, Kraft wins with a combination of athleticism and grit. For the season, he led all tight ends with 7.5 yards after the catch per catch.

Ben Sims: With Tyler Davis out with a torn ACL, the Packers claimed Sims off waivers from the Vikings at the end of training camp, meaning Green Bay’s three top tight ends were rookies. He caught four passes for 21 yards and one touchdown while lending power as a point-of-attack blocker. An undrafted free agent, Sims ranks among Baylor’s tight end leaders in career receptions (second with 78), receiving yards (four with 785) and touchdowns (first with 12).

Tyler Davis: With the additions of Musgrave and Kraft via the draft, Davis would have had a limited role on offense last year. He would have played a major role on special teams, though, after finishing fourth on the team with 10 tackles in 2022. As special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said last year: “I feel like to some degree we lost our right hand, you know?” The Packers re-signed him to a one-year deal. He should be ready to roll on Day 1 of camp.

Joel Wilson: Wilson joined the practice squad in late November and was retained on a futures contract. An undrafted free agent last year, Wilson during his final two years at Central Michigan caught 75 passes for 802 yards and 12 touchdowns. In 2022, he caught 44 passes and had zero drops. His ability as a receiver was evident during the offseason practices.

Messiah Swinson: Swinson, as they say, looks the part. At 6-foot-7 and 259 pounds, Swinson’s time to shine will be during the full-throttle days of camp. He caught 28 passes in five collegiate seasons – seven in three years at Missouri and 21 in two years at Arizona, highlighted by 15 receptions for 185 yards and his only two touchdowns in 2022.  

Henry Pearson (fullback): Pearson, who is listed on the roster as a fullback but works with the tight ends, is first in line to fill Josiah Deguara’s role as the tight end who lines up here, there and everywhere. An undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State last year, he caught 25 passes for 329 yards and five touchdowns as a fifth-year senior in 2022. With his numbers run as a fullback, his Relative Athletic Score was 6.98. He spent all of last season on the practice squad, appearing in two games with 11 snaps on offense and 23 on special teams.

Biggest Strength: Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft

With the possible exception of the Raiders, who added 2024 first-round pick Brock Bowers to 2023 second-round pick Michael Mayer, there might not be another team in the NFL with as good of a young tight end duo as the Packers have with Musgrave and Kraft. 

Last year, Musgrave and Kraft combined to catch 65 passes. In the process, they became the first rookie tight end tandem since the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez in 2010 to each have 30-plus receptions, 350-plus yards and at least one touchdown.

Now, what can they do together?

“I think it just adds to the complexity of your offense, in terms of having multiple personnel groupings,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I think both those guys can do it all. I think they both will end up becoming complete tight ends in this league in terms of their ability to run block and then what they can do for you in the passing game.

“I think they both have a little bit different flavor to them, which allows for more flexibility on the offensive side of the ball. They’re both great dudes that love the game of football. To see where they are from a year ago, it’s night and day.”

Biggest Question: Can Luke Musgrave Become a Star?

Tight ends who are 6-foot-6 with 4.61 speed in the 40 and 36-inch vertical leaps don’t grow on trees. That’s why the Packers selected him in the second round of last year’s draft despite a relatively nondescript career at Oregon State.

Musgrave showed flashes last season of being a real weapon. While he caught 4-of-7 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield and dropped only one pass, he caught 1-of-4 contested-catch opportunities and broke just two tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. With experience, can those flashes be displayed more consistently?

Biggest Battle: Ben Sims vs. Tyler Davis

Presumably, the Packers added Sims last year because of Davis’ knee injury. With Davis healthy, there’s a chance one will make the roster and the other will be looking for a new job.

“Tyler’s a stud,” tight ends coach John Dunn said before OTAs. “There’s not enough good words I can say about Tyler, just him really being one of the veterans in the room, just the guidance. Obviously, before the injury, just the example on the field or in the meeting room (of) how you go about your business, how to be a pro. He loves this game, he loves this team.”

Blocking (advantage to Sims) and special teams (advantage to Davis) will be the driving forces behind those decisions.

Biggest Key: Staying Healthy

Musgrave seemed to be just hitting his stride with catches of 36, 26 and 25 yards in his last two full games before the injury. However, because he missed six games, he was limited to just 42.7 percent playing time.

Kraft wound up playing 153 more snaps than Musgrave but missed the offseason practices with a torn pectoral that could sideline him for the start of training camp.

The Packers have high hopes for Musgrave and Kraft, both individually and as a tandem. Those hopes will turn into reality only if they can get on the field and stay on the field.

 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 | Offensive line (Saturday)

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

Hot Reads: Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary in ESPN rankings | 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 | 

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