There's a good chance that Sunday's game against the New York Jets will be the least productive contest of the season for Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft.
His contributions: two catches on three targets for 15 receiving yards. Of course, Kraft does a lot more for the offense than catch passes, but the Packers need to get him the ball more often. Period. Full stop. Put it on a sticky note for Matt LaFleur's playsheet.
Kraft did have a nice Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, but with a mediocre run game and a receiver room heavily reliant on Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, LaFleur has to find a way to keep Kraft involved. For the offense to be successful, there's no two ways around it.
Tucker Kraft is too good a playmaker for Packers to ignore
That's more a matter of process and principle than anything overly specific to Sunday's affair. Jordan Love only dished out 16 completions for a meager 145 yards. Not exactly a pass-catcher's buffet.
The rain and New York's potent pass rush played a part in bottling up the Packers' offense in all phases. Still, LaFleur can't expect to win many games this season by getting Kraft three targets.
To that point, Kraft's 15 receiving yards were his fewest since November 2024, a 17-game span. His two catches tied for the same. In his last 13 games, he has been targeted less often only once.
The good news is that getting Kraft more opportunities should be low-hanging fruit. He was quietly productive in Week 1, reeling in three of six targets for 65 yards. Business as usual.
There's no reason Kraft can't keep pace with Arizona's Trey McBride or the Raiders' Brock Bowers as a top tight end in the league. That's what he looked like last season before his season-ending knee injury. The Packers paid him handsomely. They may as well throw him some rope.
Is Kraft's knee still bothering him? It doesn't seem to be. The only thing that could hold him back statistically is the amount of heavy lifting he may have to do as a blocker. The offensive line was already weak, and now the injuries are piling up.
With right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele done for the year and the interior uncertain, LaFleur may involve Kraft that much more to create running lanes on toss or stretch plays.
At the same time, a stagnant rushing attack and porous protection could make Kraft even more important as a playmaker. He's not a halfback but he's big, strong, and ready to bulldoze defenders after the catch.
Without the luxury of sitting back in the pocket with ample time to throw, Love may be checking down more than he'd like. Put the ball in Kraft's hands and a dump-off can become a chunk play. He already has 32 yards after the catch, good for 40 percent of his total production.
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