After a long summer of maintaining the status quo at the tight end position, the Green Bay Packers rapidly made two moves to round out those roles.
On August 27, Green Bay signed veteran Jonnu Smith. Then, to cap off a busy day of roster management on Sunday, Brian Gutekunst traded a 2028 seventh-round selection to the Los Angeles Rams for Mark Redman.
Smith, a third-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in 2017, is only two years removed from a Pro Bowl selection in 2024 with the Miami Dolphins.
Last season certainly didn't go as planned with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His receiving totals dropped from 886 yards and eight touchdowns to only 221 yards and two touchdowns. Smith never clicked with Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers' offense, as shown by a massive drop-off in production despite playing only 10 percent fewer snaps (626 in 2024 to 566 last year).
Then there is Redman, who went undrafted in 2025 and spent all of last season on the Rams' practice squad. Redman was clearly not bound for Los Angeles' 53-man roster, and Green Bay saw enough in his preseason play to ensure they got to him first.
Redman did have a stellar game against Kansas City in the preseason opener this year, catching all three targets for 47 yards. But it's Redman's blocking and not his receiving that makes him millions.
How Jonnu Smith and Mark Redman will allow Packers to fully unleash Tucker Kraft
Redman is a working man's tight end. He's a complementary blocking presence, the kind that Green Bay used to enjoy from Marcedes Lewis' time in the Green and Gold. He's a throwback, primary in-line tight end whose blocking ability will earn him snaps, rather than his potential as a flex weapon.
Together, the two additions at tight end work to fill a couple of major holes that had already existed on the roster, even with the return of Tucker Kraft so close.
Remember, in football, a tight end is an ultra-versatile, wild-card type of position that can be called on to fill multiple roles at once. Similarly to how a wide receiver room must be composed of different body types, you want a different array of tight ends. Typically, there are three "archetypes" of tight ends: the in-line TE (Y), the flex/move (F), and the hybrid/H-back (H).
Kraft is a superstar and can handle any and every role asked of him, but as a yards-after-catch threat, you like to keep him flexible in order to attack the defense from any spot. That's why your backups have to be able to handle their roles, because if Kraft gets pigeonholed into any one spot, it limits his effectiveness.
Before this week, I was not confident that would be the case. Luke Musgrave is a definite F tight end, but he'll start the season on PUP with a neck injury. Josh Whyle showed off some versatility as an H-back, but didn't necessarily show off the "next step" in development that many were waiting for this summer. And the Y role, an effective run and pass blocker, was basically unfilled on the roster.
Enter Smith and Redman.
Smith has stood out as an H-back throughout his career, and that's where he is most effective. He was an integral part of Mike McDaniel's motion-heavy offense in 2024, his most productive season by far.
Meanwhile, Redman can soak up some snaps on the line of scrimmage as the team's in-line Y tight end, to do the dirty work in Matt LaFleur's run-blocking scheme. And, pending his health, Musgrave has found his most success as a F tight end, split out in the slot or even out wide. Then Kraft gets to reap the benefits of being an ultra-versatile piece.
Small roster adjustments like this can have such a big impact on the larger picture of an offense's effectiveness. Though players like Drake Dabney made obvious strides in their NFL journeys over the summer, I'm relieved the Packers are looking for outside solutions to these problems.
It remains to be seen exactly how large a role Smith and Redman will have in the offense this year, but I'm confident the position is far better set up for success than it was just a few short days ago.
Add us as a preferred source on Google