It appears tight end was a need times two for the Green Bay Packers. With the 78th choice in round three Friday night, General Manager Brian Gutekunst selected the second tight end of the draft, tabbing South Dakota State’s FCS All-American Tucker Kraft. With Green Bay losing Robert Tonyan to free agency and moving on from veteran Marcedes Lewis, there was a gaping roster hole at the position. Kraft joins second round pick Luke Musgrave of Oregon State in a parlay Gutekunst is hoping will be similar to what the New England Patriots did back in 2010 by selecting both Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
South Dakota State Tight End Tucker Kraft
Like Musgrave, Kraft is a solidly built tight end at 6-5 and 255 and while he may not have as much speed, there’s still plenty for Tucker to stretch the seam. What sets him apart is the physical style of play, both with the ball in his hands and as an in-line blocker. Kraft caught 99 passes for 1218 yards and 8 touchdowns during his career with the Jack Rabbits. A breakout junior year of 65 receptions and six scores got the attention of major college programs who reportedly were willing to offer some lucrative NIL deals to transfer but he stayed true to South Dakota State as a native of small town Timber Lake.
After starting the draft with an edge rusher on defense in Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness, Gutekunst spent day two delivering new targets for new starting quarterback Jordan Love with the tandem at tight end and Michigan State wide receiver Jayden Reed who celebrated his 23rd birthday by getting a call from the Packers.
By trading down twice in the second round, Gutekunst will still have a whopping 9 picks to make during the final four rounds of the draft on Saturday.
