Packers 2024 Preview: Tight Ends

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MaxPack
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Joined: January 16th, 2015, 11:21 am

Packers 2024 Preview: Tight Ends

Image USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK It’s more likely than not that Green Bay will have “co-starters” at tight end moving forward. For our fourth preview of the offseason, let’s focus on tight ends, a position where the Green Bay Packers struck when the iron was hot. The 2023 draft was considered extremely strong at the position, leading to the Packers selecting two tight ends in the top 100 picks of the same class. How did it work out? It appears that Green Bay doesn’t have to worry about the position for the next three seasons — the remaining duration of those players’ rookie contracts — as the Packers became the first team in NFL history to have three rookie tight ends record a touchdown in the same season. The real question at tight end is what the bottom end of the roster is going to look like — from a numbers and special teams perspective. For the purpose of this exercise, we also included fullback Henry Pearson as a “tight end.” As a reminder, below is our two-week publishing schedule for this series: Luke Musgrave Tucker Kraft First, we must talk about the Packers’ two 2023 draft picks: former second-round pick Luke Musgrave and former third-round pick Tucker Kraft. Musgrave began the season with high expectations, starting 9 of Green Bay’s first 10 games of the year. Unfortunately, a lacerated kidney led to him missing six straight games after the Packers’ win against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11. Once he returned to the team in the regular season finale versus the Chicago Bears, Musgrave failed to record at least 30 percent of Green Bay’s total offensive snaps in the squad’s final three games of the season — likely due to the injury. When Musgrave was on the field, he played about a third of his snaps as a receiver — either split out in the slot or lined up wide — rather than as a true in-line tight end. That’s where he wins at the NFL and it’s how the team should deploy him in 2024. Expect him to be on the field for most of the Packers’ third down or long yardage situations, even if he’s splitting time pretty equally with Kraft moving forward. Speaking of Kraft, he played 39 fewer slot snaps than Musgrave — according to Pro Football Focus — despite playing 243 more inline tight end snaps as a rookie. Assume that the team will try to use Kraft as a wing tight end in two-tight end sets and will have him play with his hand in the dirt more than Musgrave this season. Going into the year, it’s fair to say that the second-year players are probably going to be closer to “co-starters.” Don’t expect one of them to run away with the job single-handedly. Tyler Davis The Green Bay Packers seem to love the special teams ability that Tyler Davis brings to the table. When he tore his ACL in the 2023 preseason, opening the door for the squad to claim Ben Sims off of waivers, the coaching staff emphasized how much of a loss it was to them that Davis wouldn’t play in the upcoming season. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Davis re-signed with the team on a cheap one-year contract, as he’s likely to be the most-played special teamer out of the position group. He might be a roster bubble player, but he has an inside track to making the team based on how the franchise values special teamers under Rich Bisaccia. Ben Sims Henry Pearson Based on how the Packers like to use tight end bodies on special teams, I think it would be surprising if general manager Brian Gutekunst didn’t keep four on the roster. The top candidates to play a reserve role behind Musgrave, Kraft and Davis are Ben Sims — who was claimed off of waivers at cutdowns via the Minnesota Vikings last year — and Henry Pearson — who is technically a fullback. While Davis should contribute a lot on special teams, the team still needs to replace all the snaps that former third-round pick Josiah Deguara left behind after his rookie contract expired. Both Sims and Pearson can contribute in the third phase of football and out of the backfield as blockers. Consider both players on the roster bubble, as their status will be decided in summer camp. Joel Wilson Messiah Swinson The Packers tight ends who are more likely to make the practice squad than the 53-man roster are Joel Wilson and Messiah Swinson. Wilson spent time with the New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills last year before signing with Green Bay’s practice squad in late November. At the end of the year, he signed a reserve/futures contract with the team, a common move for practice squad players. Swinson is a rookie undrafted free agent by way of Arizona State. The 6’7”, 259-pound tight end ran just a 4.87-second 40-yard dash time at his pro day in March, but he has massive proportions, including 10.75” hands. Prior to his time at Arizona State, he played at Missouri — where he left ranked as one of the top 200 transfer prospects going into the 2022 offseason.

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