Luke

Musgrave

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.

Musgrave wasn’t involved despite the Packers throwing 46 times in the loss, and the 2023 second-round pick finishes a disappointing campaign with another ineffective fantasy outing. He ended the year with just 24 catches for 252 yards, and even after Tucker Kraft went down with his ACL injury in Week 9, he didn’t he didn’t make an impact with zero touchdowns and just one game with over four catches. The 25-year-old is under contract for one more year, and there’s no reason to think he should be on radars when draft season begins.

Musgrave’s 38 receiving yards mark his second-highest total of the season and come on the heals of the 4/52/0 receiving line he had last week. Musgrave has yet to find the end zone this season and is averaging just 2.0 targets per game. He won’t be on the fantasy radar for Week 16 against the Ravens.

The six targets Musgrave saw on Sunday set a new season high, as did his 52 receiving yards. Musgrave’s production saw a nice boost, thanks in part to a 26-yard reception on the Packers’ second drive of the game. Sunday’s game against the Broncos marked the first time this season that Musgrave has surpassed 34 receiving yards. He can be left on waivers for Week 16’s game against the Bears.

The good news is that Musgrave, along with Christian Watson and Jayden Reed, led the Packers in targets. The bad news is that Matt LaFleur deployed a three-headed committee at tight end. Musgrave, Josh Whyle, and Josh Fitzpatrick all run between 30 and 40 percent of the routes. Until Musgrave separates from the pack, he will be on the outside of the TE2 ranks looking in.

Musgrave was barely involved as the Packers’ wide receivers stole the show against the Lions. Packers QB Jordan Love did give him one opportunity, flinging a play-action pass his way on the fourth drive. Musgrave dove and successfully secured the pass, bringing the ball down to the Lions’ 11-yard line.

Since taking over for Tucker Kraft in Week 10 as the full-time starter at Packers tight end, Musgrave has 29 yards on seven targets. You can do better.

Musgrave’s “missed connection” frankly probably should have been a lost fumble, but the review command center predictably decided he didn’t “complete the process.” Stuck on four catches for 22 yards over the past two weeks, Musgrave so far isn’t stepping up during Tucker Kraft’s absence. With tight end deep if not necessarily productive this year, Musgrave isn’t really forcing his way into the top 24. That includes for Week 12 against the Vikings.

Musgrave failed to live up to the lofty shoes he is filling the Green Bay offense following the season-ending injury to Tucker Kraft, used mostly as a blocker in a game the Packers focused their efforts on the ground game. His next chance to return usable counting stats comes in Week 11 against a reeling Giants team that just fired its head coach.