After excellent 2024 season, how can Packers TE Tucker Kraft improve in 2025?

USA Today

3 days ago

After excellent 2024 season, how can Packers TE Tucker Kraft improve in 2025?
After a slow start to his rookie season back in 2023, Packers tight end Tucker Kraft has gone from strength to strength, becoming a key cog in Green Bay's offense after just two years in the league.
Here is what the numbers say about Kraft's specific strengths and weaknesses entering Year 3, as well as the areas he can continue to develop:
Strengths
Matt LaFleur and the offensive coaching staff in Green Bay have done a great job of weaponizing Kraft by giving him opportunities to get yards after the catch, and he has excelled in this role with his bruising style, refusing to go down or get out of bounds early.
Among qualified tight ends, Kraft ranks in the 93rd percentile for yards after the catch per reception (YAC/REC) and the 76th percentile for missed tackles forced per reception since entering the league.
Kraft's disregard for his own body with the ball in his hands may give his coaches a heart attack at times, but it is certainly effective.
He has made a habit of creating chunk plays, ranking in the 80th percentile for yards per reception (Y/REC), partially due to his ability to squeeze every yard out of each touch.
With ten touchdowns in the last two seasons, including seven in 2024, Kraft has made some big plays for the Packers down in the red zone, and ranks in the 78th percentile among tight ends for touchdowns per target.
Due to his skill set, Kraft has been used most prominently in the 0-10 yard area of the field, and he has been very valuable there, ranking in the 95th percentile for yards per route run (Y/RR), the 94th for Y/REC and the 96th for YAC/REC.
While his teammate Luke Musgrave is more heralded in terms of athleticism, Kraft is an elite athlete in his own right and has been an effective deep threat when given the opportunity. He lands in the 91st percentile for Y/RR and Y/REC deep downfield.
Weaknesses
For as tough and physical a player as Kraft is, he has not graded out well as a run blocker, at least according to PFF. He falls in just the 27th percentile in run block grade since 2023, although he did improve in 2024.
While Kraft has shown he can threaten defenses deep, the Packers are yet to fully explore his potential in that regard.
He ranks in the 5th percentile among tight ends in average depth of target (ADOT) in his two seasons so far, due to a large portion of his opportunities coming in near the line of scrimmage on quick passes or checkdowns.
It has not done him any harm, as Kraft has made the most of his targets, and the low ADOT is not a knock on Kraft as such, as it is not something he can control, but it will ultimately limit how much he can impact games if he does not become more involved further downfield.
Kraft was not targeted enough in the intermediate part of the field to qualify for the rankings. Speaking to the Green Bay media recently, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich admitted the Packers coaches are focusing on ways to get him the ball more, and in different ways, in 2025.
For his part, Kraft needs to do a better job when facing man coverage. He has been less effective than against zone, and this is in large part due to him ranking in the 29th percentile for drop rate versus man.
Speaking to the media at mandatory minicamp this week, Kraft acknowledged the areas he needs to continue to develop as a receiver.
He said: 'One thing I feel like I could've done better was separate in man to man. Most of my game was checkdowns underneath and yards after catch ability, so I'm looking to put it all together."
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Kraft became a more central figure in Green Bay's offense last year, and this was reflected in his targets. He went from the 32nd percentile in targets to the 60th between 2023 and 2024, and based on Stenavich's comments, it seems he will only grow more important.
His increased involvement was justified, as Kraft was simply a more efficient receiving target in 2024, improving his Y/RR ranking from the 32nd to the 68th percentile.
Kraft was better against both man and zone coverage, signifying his overall upward trajectory. He went from the 14th percentile to the 37th percentile in Y/RR against man, and the 11th to the 70th versus zone.
Despite his strengths with the ball in his hands, Kraft was not very productive on targets behind the line of scrimmage as a rookie, ranking in the 25th and 3rd percentile for Y/REC and Y/RR respectively, but was much more effective in 2024, improving to the 61st and 50th percentile.
Between his rookie and sophomore seasons, he went from a below average player at winning contested catches to an above average one, with his ranking improving from the 42nd percentile to the 53rd.
The Packers used Kraft more out of the slot in 2024, after he did not get enough targets to qualify there as a rookie. He performed fairly well from that alignment last year, ranking in the 52nd percentile for Y/RR and the 88th for Y/REC.
It is worth remembering the context that all these strides Kraft made in year two came off the back of an offseason in which he suffered a torn pectoral muscle. It was a truly impressive year.
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The only aspect in which Kraft arguably declined in Year 2 was his pass blocking, a relatively small part of his overall game. Based on PFF's pass block grades, Kraft regressed from the 71st percentile to the 48th.
On the whole, Kraft made huge strides between Year 1 and 2 and was already one of the better tight ends in the league in 2024.
Just 24 years old entering year three, Kraft's arrow is pointing up, and his self-awareness about areas for improvement should only help him achieve a higher level of performance. Kraft has a legitimate chance to become one of the best all-around players at his position in the future.