Luke

Musgrave

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.

This is a bad sign for Golden’s availability on Monday night. With Packers TE Tucker Kraft (knee) out for the year and WR Jayden Reed (foot/collarbone) on injured reserve, the team’s notoriously deep pass-catching corps could be operating as a condensed, fantasy-friendly unit led by WRs Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, and fill-in starting TE Luke Musgrave. Stay tuned.

Tucker Kraft suffered what is expected to be a season-ending torn ACL in this game. He is set to undergo testing to confirm the injury, but it would be a surprise for him to play again this year. That will thrust Musgrave into the starting role versus the Eagles next week. Musgrave should be added in all fantasy formats, though managers should temper their expectations in his first start of the year. He will be in the TE2 streaming mix for Week 10.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur said after the game that Kraft’s knee injury “does not look good.” We fully expect the MRI to confirm a season-ending injury for the young tight end. It’s a devastating blow for the Packers, who had been relying on Kraft as their de facto WR1 this year. Kraft easily led the team with 30 catches for 469 yards and six scores heading into Week 9. Luke Musgrave will take his place in the lineup, though he is unlikely to replace Kraft’s production.

The 2023 second-round pick played 15 of 66 snaps, finishing as the clear No. 2 tight end. He missed the vast majority of the season while dealing with an ankle injury, ending the year with a 7/45 receiving line on 10 targets in seven games. If we write off this as a lost season for Musgrave, you can build a comeback case for 2025 on his draft stock and what he showed in 2023. The problem is that Tucker Kraft has placed the Packers TE1 bar pretty high, and the team rarely uses a second tight end. Musgrave is not a must-roster in deeper dynasty leagues at this point.