The Packers have a big problem at the top of their tight end depth chart. I know that isn’t breaking news for anybody. When Tucker Kraft was lost for the season three weeks ago against the Panthers with a torn ACL, I think we were all under the impression that we were in for some tough sledding when it came to his replacements on the roster. Kraft is a budding superstar not only at the tight end position, but in the NFL in general. The YAC king brought so much to this offense outside of just catching the ball that it truly can’t be understated. After two games without him, I think our expectations should be lowered even further.

The week after Kraft was lost for the season, I wrote an article highlighting the Packers’ new depth chart at the tight end position going forward. Luke Musgrave was now assuming TE1, with John FitzPatrick the new backup, Josh Whyle getting promoted to the active roster from the practice squad, and two new additions replacing him on the practice squad for additional depth. I think if we’re being fair, FitzPatrick and Whyle have done a serviceable job in their newfound roles on this team. 

While FitzPatrick doesn’t bring as much to the passing game as you’d like from a tight end—he only has six catches this season for 29 yards and had a drop this past game that was technically negated by a holding penalty—he is the best blocking tight end the team has now, and regardless of his lack of pass-catching ability, he’s going to be called upon to block. He had the most snaps of all tight ends on Sunday against the Giants with 35. The hope is that with some more time, Matt LaFleur can figure out a way to get him more opportunities and maybe unlock something in him. At 6'7" and 262 pounds, he could be a great red-zone target, and if there is a way to scheme him open, LaFleur should be able to figure that out.

The newest member of the unit, Josh Whyle, has made a few impact plays since joining the active roster two weeks ago. In his first game against the Eagles, he paved the way on an explosive run by Josh Jacobs while lined up in the backfield as a fullback. Against the Giants, he caught his lone target for two yards and a touchdown when he was wide open on a nicely designed play by LaFleur. He brings a much better pass-catching pedigree than FitzPatrick, having hauled in 37 catches for 342 yards and two touchdowns with the Titans the last few seasons. He has seen a large increase in snaps on offense in his short stint. Against the Eagles he was on the field for only six snaps (8.8%). On Sunday against the Giants, he was up to 20 snaps (36.4%). They’re using him as a traditional TE, putting him inline as well as lining him up in the backfield in I-formation to clear a path for a back. A short sample size indeed, but nothing so far that would warrant a smaller role.

That brings us to Luke Musgrave. Perhaps the most frustrating Green Bay Packer of the last decade. Dripping with all the size, speed, and potential one could ask for in a player, he just cannot seem to put it all together. After a strong start to his career, Musgrave has flamed out quickly as a second-round pick. Equal parts battling injuries and flat-out ineffectiveness, Musgrave went from the clear starter post-Kraft to, two games in, getting out-snapped by a player picked up mid-season 2024 off waivers and a practice-squad tight end promoted out of necessity. When he was given a chance with two balls thrown his way against the Giants, he produced one catch for –1 yard while fumbling the ball out of bounds. His second reception, while credited as an incompletion, probably should have been ruled a catch and fumble. If you’re keeping score at home, that would be two catches, –1 yard, and two fumbles. His PFF grade was a ripe 28.4, making him the lowest-rated player on the entire team, and that’s one of the lowest grades any Packer has received all season.

Most people would look at that stat line and grade and come to the conclusion that the player shouldn’t be on the field much at all. Unfortunately for Packers fans, the one person whose job it is to determine that is not one of those people and believes he should be on the field more. After the game, when asked about Musgrave receiving only two snaps in the second half, LaFleur responded by saying he needs more of a role.

“He absolutely needs to play more than whatever snaps he played in the second half,” LaFleur said on Monday. “We’ll make sure that happens.”

I cannot for the life of me think why he would come to that conclusion. Musgrave just does not seem to have a role in the type of offense that Green Bay wants to run. He’s a much worse blocker than John FitzPatrick at this point. He doesn’t have the capability to line up in the backfield and play the de-facto fullback role that Whyle now occupies. He doesn’t play special teams (only four snaps in six games). The one thing he is supposed to be good at—catching the ball and providing a threat down the seam—he isn’t even doing. He has just 20 catches for 155 yards over his last 17 games, and his last touchdown came all the way back in the 2023 season. If he wasn’t a former second-round pick of this current regime, my guess is he wouldn’t be seeing the field at all.

After the Kraft injury, the Packers find themselves in a very unfavorable position. Their hand is forced due to a lack of options into playing a player who simply shouldn’t be out there. Matt LaFleur needs to coach the team he has and not the team he wishes he had. The team he wishes he had features the version of Luke Musgrave they envisioned when they drafted him—the field-stretching matchup nightmare for linebackers and defensive backs alike. The team he actually has features the Luke Musgrave who can’t block, can’t catch, and when he does catch, he either fumbles or falls down immediately. Packers fans can see that. Hopefully Matt LaFleur can see it too, before it costs them a game.