Tucker

Kraft

Kraft was able to bring in a score between a pair of defenders to give the Pack a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. That’s back-to-back games for the tight end with a score, and three in the first half of 2026. Kraft has seen a similar amount of involvement throughout the campaign, and he’ll likely put up a similar statline — hopefully with a touchdown for fantasy managers who roster him — in Week 9 versus the Patriots.

Kraft found the end zone on a 14-yard touchdown near the end of the second quarter, giving him his second touchdown of the season and his first since Week 4 against the Buccaneers. Kraft has seen six or more targets in four of his last five games and has posted double-digit PPR points in three of his last four. Even when he isn’t finding the end zone, his volume, coupled with his big-play ability, is enough to keep him in the TE1 conversation. Kraft gets a nice matchup next week against the Panthers on Thursday night.

Kraft was forced from the game in the second quarter after taking a scary hit to his thigh area that generated torsion on his knee while his foot was still planted. It was the opposite knee to the one he injured a season ago and the veteran tight end would miss only one drive before returning to the game after the half, providing a collective sigh of relief for fantasy managers that have tasted the despair of a major knee injury already. Kraft could be busy in Week 7 against the defense allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends when the Packers face off against the division rival Lions in a potential shootout.

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.

Kraft, who tore his ACL in Week 9 last year, told reporters he would not be on a snap count in Week 1. He was. Kraft ran 20 routes to Jonnu Smith’s 18. The good news is that Kraft looked as explosive as ever, racking up gains of 30, 23, and 12 yards. Even with the weak route rate, this goes down as a win for a player whose game is built around big plays. His route rate should climb in the coming weeks, keeping him in the TE1 mix versus the Jets next Sunday.

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.