Packers TE Tucker Kraft caught just 4 of 8 targets for 26 yards in Thursday night’s loss to the Falcons. That came in a game in which QB Jordan Love chucked it 53 times for 312 yards. Kraft’s 8 targets ranked third on the team but were an underwhelming 15.1% share. He finished fourth in receiving yards, behind WRs Matthew Golden, Christian Watson, and Skyy Moore. All four of Kraft’s catches came near the line of scrimmage and resulted in very little after-catch yardage. Love and Kraft failed to connect on a wheel route deep ball in the second quarter, and Kraft had 2 straight drops in the fourth quarter.
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Patience Required
There’s a lot going wrong for Kraft right now.
For starters, the Packers’ offense is struggling, largely because of a shoddy offensive line. QB Jordan Love is under constant pressure and has completed just 52.4% of his passes at 6.8 yards per attempt.
On top of that, Kraft clearly isn’t back to 100% from last year’s multi-ligament knee injury. He looks a couple of steps slower and doesn’t have the same after-catch juice.
Kraft is no better than a low-end TE1 right now and is not a must-start in the short term.
There are reasons for longer-term optimism, though.
It’s no surprise that Kraft isn’t all the way back from that knee injury, which happened less than 11 months ago. It often takes players 12 months or more to get back to 100%. We can expect Kraft to continue improving in that department as the season progresses.
He should also continue seeing nice volume. The Packers have abandoned their pathetic running game, throwing at a 73.3% rate through 3 games. That will come down, especially if and when RB Josh Jacobs returns. But we expect this to remain a pass-leaning offense throughout the season.
Green Bay will also be without WR Jayden Reed (neck) for at least the foreseeable future, and potentially the rest of the year. That leaves this as a very concentrated passing game, featuring Kraft, Watson, and Golden.
There’s still a path for Kraft to score as an upper-end TE1, particularly in the second half of the season. Consider buying low over the next week or two.
