Kraft plays on pitch count in 2026 opener

The five-catch effort was Kraft’s second straight after previously having zero. His 54 yards were also his most since Week 1. His 46-yard reception in the third quarter was his longest of the season. All of that is good, though it was still somewhat disappointing amidst a 367-yard Jordan Love outburst where Christian Watson and Matthew Golden both eased by 100 yards. Kraft is averaging a pedestrian six targets. He’s going to need both more looks and big plays to remain a higher-end TE1. It will nevertheless be impossible to bench him for Week 6 against the Cowboys’ shaky defense.

Jordan Love made it a point to get Kraft going in this game, peppering him with easy-button targets throughout the contest. Kraft led the team with a 23 percent target share. His six grabs also led the team and are a new season high. He found the end zone with an impressive toe-dragging catch at the goal line. Kraft is still looking for the explosive play, but the team is getting him more involved every week. He is back in the TE1 ranks after a slow couple of weeks to start the season. Kraft will look to stay hot versus the Bears next week.

Kraft has not yet looked himself after recovering from a torn ACL suffered in 2025, this time committing two drops for the first time in his career. To add additional context, Kraft has never had more than three drops in an entire season entering his fourth year in the league. The game plan clearly consisted of getting Kraft involved early to circumvent the offensive line struggles, but the connection with Jordan Love was off throughout. Kraft appears likely to need time to get back to full speed for the Packers, although his snaps and route participation rate were back to normal for the second consecutive week. Fantasy managers are likely forced to ride through the turbulence considering the state of the tight end position throughout the league, but he is a shaky start ahead of a Week 4 matchup with the Buccaneers.

The good news is that Kraft played 52 of the team’s 53 snaps and ran a route on 32 of their 34 dropbacks. The bad news is that he wasn’t commanding targets, and he also fumbled one of his catches, but the replay review couldn’t determine for sure who recovered it, so the Packers were able to maintain possession. Perhaps we should have been a little less aggressive in expecting Kraft to return from tearing his ACL less than a year ago and go right back to being himself at the start of the season. His role remains elite, but it may take another couple of weeks before he’s physically able to play like we’re used to seeing.

The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Kraft’s deal, which runs through the 2030 season, has a maximum value of $92 million and includes a $26.5 million signing bonus. He’s now the NFL’s highest-paid tight end. Kraft had 32 receptions, 489 yards and six touchdowns before tearing his ACL in Week 9 last year. Not on the injury report for Week 1, Kraft is a surefire TE1 even in a tough matchup against the Vikings defense.

Silverstein believes the deal’s total value likely isn’t as important to the Packers as the structure. Kraft is still likely to reset the tight end market, but since he is returning from a season-ending ACL tear and has “yet to show he’s picked up where he left off last year, it may take some time for the deal to come together.” In the meantime, as long as he takes the field, Kraft can be treated as a TE1.

Kraft has been trending toward playing in Week 1 for a long time. Not appearing on the injury report in any capacity means he is good to go. Kraft may still have somewhat of a pitch count for his first game back from a 2025 torn ACL, but Matt LaFleur will be sure to get him the ball when he is on the field. Kraft is a fantasy TE1 for the Packers’ Week 1 game against Minnesota.

Musgrave is coming back from a neck injury with no clear timeline for a return to action. The Packers last week signed Jonnu Smith, who will play behind Tucker Kraft to start the regular season. Smith could be an interesting waiver add if Kraft — returning from a major knee injury — misses any time in 2026.

Smith reunited with Arthur Smith in Pittsburgh last year and posted 38 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Even with NFL players actively returning to college football, Jonnu was unable to find a way to follow his favorite offensive coordinator to Ohio State. All signs point to Tucker Kraft being fully recovered from his torn ACL by Week 1, but backup tight end Luke Musgrave remains sidelined with an injury of his own. Smith won’t be on the fantasy radar as long as Kraft is healthy, but he should be a solid depth option for the Packers.

It looks like the Packers are ready to ease Kraft back into competition following the serious knee injury that ended his 2025 season. Kraft said recently that the team would “probably” keep him on a snap count to begin the regular season. That would make Kraft — one of the game’s most efficient tight ends — a dicy bet for fantasy purposes. Kraft might not be playable for the first month of the regular season, or even longer depending on his progress and the Packers’ strategies for keeping him healthy.