For more than a decade, the Green Bay Packers have been three-quarters of the draft team. Meet Tucker Kraft, who exorcises those demons. green bay packer
GREEN BAY, Wis. – How does Tucker Kraft compare to Sean Rhyan, Amari Rodgers, Josiah Deguara, Jace Sternberger, Oren Burks, Montravius Adams, Kyler Fackrell, Ty Montgomery, Khyri Thornton and Alex Green? The other is a third-round pick for the Green Bay Packers. From Green, a running back from Hawaii in 2011, to UCLA offensive lineman Ryan in 2022, the Packers’ third-round picks range from inconsistent to disappointing.
Although general manager Brian Gutekunst chose the late Ted Thompson, the Packers couldn’t have done worse than picking a name out of a hat. Approximate Value is a professional football benchmark tool used to compare players between positions and seasons. Green Bay’s third-round picks, according to AV, are Montgomery (14), Richard Rodgers (12) and Fackrell (10). All 10 players have a combined AV of 58. The league-wide AV of 20 third-round picks is over 58. Put another way, from 2011 to 2022, he didn’t make a single Pro Bowl, let alone in the third round in Green Bay.
Richard Rodgers leads the team with 29 career starts. League-wide, 44 third-rounders have been selected to a Pro Bowl. 173 players have more wins than Rodgers, including 109 with 50 or more starts and 29 with 100 or more starts. Gutekunst’s third-round picks are Burks in 2018, Sternberger in 2019, Deguara in 2020, Rodgers in 2021 and Ryan in 2022. Burks has made 14 starts this season, three for the 49ers. Next were Deguara (10), Sternberger (2), Rogers (1) and Ryan (0).
This is the beginning of number 27. 66 individuals is more. Meet Craft, who lifts the third curse. South Dakota State’s road to the NFL was a very steep one. In the first four games, Kraft played 13, 2, 10 and 13. Over the next six games, his playing time went from 19 to 35 snaps. And fellow freshman Luke Musgrave, the team’s second baseman, suffered a kidney injury against the Chargers. This left Kraft with a huge task. With Musgrave sidelined for the past five games, Kraft’s share of playing time has gone from 92% to 100% of snaps.
The post was there too. Had two receptions for 15 yards vs. Detroit, one touchdown vs. Detroit, three receptions for 37 yards vs. Kansas City, four receptions for 64 yards vs. Giants, four receptions for 57 yards vs. Tampa Bay. to Carolina “You go with the mentality you don’t know, right?” coach John Dunn said. “You work, you work, you work, now your chance has come. You have the benefit of the opportunity. It is true that it is.
“It’s great to see him take courage. If you try, nothing happens, right? We’ll talk in the boardroom. All these things are very important and they work. But when it’s important to go out and play. score goals, that’s courage. I am happy with him and the way he is doing his business. Through his first five games as the team’s full-time tight end, Kraft provided reliable blocks while catching 17 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns.
Only Detroit’s Sam LaPorta had more catches (24), yards (284) and touchdowns (5) among starters during that span. Among tight ends through five games, Kraft finished 15th in catches, 12th in yards, 10th in first downs and tied for 7th in touchdowns. “He’s very talented,” Dunn said. “I can’t tell you how hard he worked. As for the nature of his work – it has not changed. Yes? When I’m not playing, I just work, work, work, work. What you do in the dark comes to light, right? “This is their attack.”
Kraft’s calling card in college was yards after the catch. According to PFF, he averages 7.7 YAC against FCS-caliber quarterbacks. How does that translate to NFL refs? Over the last five games, 32 tight ends have been targeted 10 times. Kraft’s 8.7 YAC per catch is tied only with 49ers star George Kittle.
In the championship game against Carolina, Kraft caught a short pass between two defenders, eluded the defender and gained 14 yards after the catch to set up a field goal. “I’m going to the field, there’s nothing for me to do,” he said after the game. “Just hang in there and try to be your teammates’ guy and your coaches’ guy. I think it’s as simple as that.
Get out and run all the way like you’re going to catch the ball. You block every block like you’re the point of attack , good things will happen for your team, you owe it to yourself, you owe it to your teammates to give it all the time.i
