Tight End Could Be A Doozy

The Green Bay Packers are making a quarterback change for the first time in 15 years.

They’ll have the youngest wide receiver group in the National Football League and could lean heavily on a pair of rookie tight ends.

After having a veteran roster the last several years, the Packers figure to be one of the league’s youngest teams this fall. And that means several jobs will be wide open when training camp begins on July 26.

This week, Forbes is examining several of the positional battles that await. Today we look at the tight end job.

Tight end

Josiah Deguara vs. Luke Musgrave vs. Tyler Kraft

Deguara, a fourth-year pro and a former third round draft choice, has the most experience in the group. Rookies Musgrave and Kraft certainly have more upside.

So the biggest questions become if and when the youngsters can bypass the incumbent?

Deguara has 39 catches and two touchdowns in his first three NFL seasons. A year ago, he had just 13 receptions for 114 yards (8.8) and no TDs.

The versatile Deguara also has the ability to play H-back, where he’s used more as a blocker instead of a traditional tight end. And once the rookies acclimate to the NFL, perhaps that’s Deguara’s permanent home.

“He does a phenomenal job,” Packers tight ends coach John Dunn said of Deguara. “He’s really smart. He’s a hard worker and he does a great job being able to play all of those roles and some things you might not see, we might not get to in a game and whatever, but he’s been really invaluable in terms of all the different hats he wears for us, all the different things that he can do with his skill set.”

While Deguara is the most experienced player in the group, Musgrave seems to have the most talent.

Musgrave, a second round draft pick in April, ran a blazing 4.61 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Musgrave (6-6, 253) also has tremendous size for the position, which prompted head coach Matt LaFleur to recently say, “He is different. Yep.”

The problem with Musgrave is his college production never matched his immense physical gifts.

Musgrave was a part-time starter at Oregon State in 2020 and 2021, then played just two games in 2022 when he needed MCL surgery.

Musgrave finished his career with 47 catches for 633 yards, before shining at the Senior Bowl and excelling at the NFL Combine.

“He’s a really, really intelligent player,” LaFleur said of Musgrave. “I think every time he goes out there. If he makes a mistake he definitely, he hasn’t made many of the same mistakes twice because he’s super into-it, very deliberate about his work, invested and he continues to show progress every day.

“And he does have an elite trait that he can flat fly and he’s a big, long target. So we’re really excited about him and the progress that he’s made up to this point and we’ve got to continue to push him.”

The Packers will push Kraft, as well.

Kraft (6-4 ½, 254) runs well enough (4.73) and blocks extremely well. He also tied for the most bench press reps of 225 pounds in this year’s rookie tight end group (23).

Kraft, who comes from a rural, farming community, had several opportunities to leave South Dakota State for lucrative NIL deals, including one at Alabama. Instead, he stayed and finished his three-year career with 99 receptions for 1,218 yards and nine TDs.

Now, the Packers hope he and Musgrave can contribute sooner vs. later.

“At some point, we’ll start to get there, but it truly is day by day,” Dunn said. “I wish there was some magic formula by X amount of time, you’re going to be there. For some it’s faster than others but again, the positive is all these guys are intelligent and they work hard and that’s a very, very good recipe for understanding and getting there.”

Prediction

There’s nothing simplistic about LaFleur’s offense.

Second-year wide receiver Christian Watson, who scored a sensational 38 on the Wonderlic test, said it took him until the second half of 2022 before he felt totally comfortable in the offense.

So it’s unlikely Musgrave and Kraft will be ready for a heavy snap count in Week 1.

The best guess is Deguara opens the year as the starter and Musgrave passes him sometime around mid-season. Kraft could also begin seeing significant snaps by then, as well.

When the rookie duo gets up to speed, the Packers could have their most talent and depth at the position in several years.