Packers running out of options at tight end in free agency

If the Green Bay Packers plan to sign a free-agent tight end, they are quickly running out of options.

Tight end is Green Bay’s number one need this offseason. The team has already lost Robert Tonyan to the division-rival Chicago Bears in free agency, while Marcedes Lewis remains a free agent.

The good news is there will be options in this year’s draft class, which is deep at the tight end position.

However, Green Bay likely needs to add more than one tight end this offseason. An idea that made sense entering the offseason was to sign a veteran and draft a player.

But with many of the top free-agent options now gone, the Packers may need to double down at the position in April’s draft.

Dalton Schultz, Mike Gesicki, and Hayden Hurst have all found new teams in the past week.

The Packers can still add a veteran tight end who can help the offense, with players like Cameron Brate and Irv Smith Jr. still available.

But would either of them provide a significant upgrade on Tonyan?

Tight end would still be a need even after signing a free agent. Perhaps the plan is to draft two. And it wouldn’t be a bad idea.

If the Packers come away with an early-round choice like Utah’s Dalton Kincaid, Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, Georgia’s Darnell Washington, or Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave, and a mid-round prospect like Michigan’s Luke Schoonmaker, they should be delighted.

Imagine a scenario where the Packers draft Kincaid and Schoonmaker. Along with Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis, they would have a lot of talent and depth in the tight end room.

But if the Packers’ plan was to draft a tight end and sign a free agent, time is running out. Most of the top tight end free agents are gone.