GREEN BAY, Wis. – After his rookie season, Keyshawn Johnson wrote a book titled Just Give Me the Damn Ball!
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft would like to be a bigger part of the offensive story, beginning with Sunday night’s game at the Dallas Cowboys.
“I think that it is in our best interest to move the ball that I touch the ball every drive,” Kraft said after Thursday’s practice. “That’s just the confidence I have in myself. It’s where I think I am as a guy in this offense now. Yeah, enough said.”
The Packers have a lot of potential playmakers on their offense but Kraft’s right. Good things happen when he gets the ball.
In his career, the Packers are 6-1 when he has at least 60 receiving yards. That includes going 4-0 last season and 1-0 this season.
Kraft statistically is the best run-after-catch tight end in the NFL. Among tight ends last year, he led the league by a wide margin in yards after the catch per catch and tied for first in forced missed tackles, even though he was barely inside the top 20 in receptions. He’s No. 1 in YAC per catch this year, too.
In Week 2, Kraft caught 6-of-6 targets for 124 yards and one touchdown in a big win against Washington. Last week, coming off a knee injury sustained at practice, he had the critical catch and run on what should have been the game-winning touchdown drive.
“I’m going to run each route on the field like I’m going to catch the football and I’m going to block each play like I’m at the point of attack,” Kraft said. “I believe that I offer a different kind of consistent explosiveness whenever I get the ball in my hands.”
Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich didn’t disagree.
The offense goes through running back Josh Jacobs. At receiver, Romeo Doubs is the reliable route-runner, Dontayvion Wicks is off to a strong start after a drop-plagued season and first-round pick Matthew Golden’s consistency and explosiveness have made him worthy of more opportunities.
But Kraft is different, with his ability to get downfield for an explosive gain or turn a short pass into an explosive gain.
“Any of those guys but especially a guy like Tucker, if we’re going to be the best that we can be, we’ve got to get him the ball. For sure. There’s no doubt about that,” Stenavich said.
“He does great things when he has the ball. At the end of the game, we got the ball to him and he did a great job getting an explosive play to put us in field-goal range. He’s just one of those guys that makes plays when he has the ball in his hands.”
Kraft enters Week 4 leading the Packers in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Among all tight ends, he’s 17th in receptions but sixth in yards, first in yards per catch (among tight ends with at least six receptions) and tied for first in touchdowns.
According to PFF, he’s second in yards after the catch, first in yards per route and first in passer rating when targeted.
“That’s always my argument is what happens when 85 touches the football?” Kraft said. “Is it a first down? Is it an explosive? Breaking tackles? Is he getting in the end zone? Talking myself in the third person but that’s just my brand. Give me the ball and just watch what happens every time. I just try to be the most consistent player on offense one snap at a time.”
Kraft’s desire to be more involved in the passing game comes from a good place. He was not speaking selfishly or maliciously. One of three permanent captains on offense alongside Jacobs and quarterback Jordan Love, it’s undeniable that getting the ball in a top playmaker’s hands is good for the offense – and good for the team.
The Packers are coming off a dreadful offensive performance in the loss to Cleveland. He had zero catches in the first half of a 13-10 loss.
Whoever gets it done, the Packers need a strong start on Sunday night at Dallas.
“We did great Week 1, Week 2, coming out and trying to put points on the board,” Kraft said. “We’ve just got to stick to that. It doesn’t matter if we’re home or away, we’re going to come out on the first drive and try to get points on the board. That is just the demand of our offense.
“The defense needs us to play like that so we can play complementary to them. It was 10-0 up until the fourth quarter. That’s remarkable. Not a lot of defenses are doing that. We have the best defense in the NFL, so we just have to help them out. We’re beating ourselves up when we’re getting behind the sticks with pre-snap penalties. We’re fed up with our own mistakes and we’ve got to limit those in the future.”
