{"id":38055,"date":"2025-11-20T15:45:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T15:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=38055"},"modified":"2025-11-20T15:45:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T15:45:19","slug":"breaking-packers-circle-the-wagons-around-early-draft-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=38055","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING : Packers Circle the Wagons Around Early Draft Pick"},"content":{"rendered":"
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GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2013 This was supposed to be Luke Musgrave\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

With Tucker Kraft out for the season with a knee injury, it was time for Musgrave to reassert himself as not just the Green Bay Packers\u2019 primary tight end, but a difference-making tight end.<\/p>\n

It was time to remind everyone why he would have obliterated franchise rookie receiving records by a tight end in 2023 if not for a lacerated kidney, an injury that opened the door for Kraft.<\/p>\n

It was time to show the football world what he\u2019s capable of doing when ability, health and opportunity coalesce at the perfect time.<\/p>\n

Instead, on Sunday against the New York Giants, all Musgrave got was a lot of time on the bench.<\/p>\n

Musgrave played the fewest snaps of Green Bay\u2019s three tight ends. John FitzPatrick, who was selected 171 picks after Musgrave in the 2023 draft, played 35 snaps. Josh Whyle, who was taken 105 picks after Musgrave in 2023 and was promoted from the practice squad a week earlier, played 20 snaps.<\/p>\n

Musgrave played 19. The coaches would never use the word, but he essentially was benched for the final 27 minutes of the game. His final snap was the play before Whyle\u2019s touchdown catch with 11:40 to play in the third quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I wouldn\u2019t read into that,\u201d tight ends coach John Dunn said on Wednesday. \u201cTwo weeks ago, he played, I don\u2019t know, however many (snaps) \u2013 a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, Musgrave did play a lot in the 10-7 loss to the Eagles. His 52 snaps were a season high by 22 and his most in more than two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think every game\u2019s a little different,\u201d Dunn continued. \u201cNot for competitive advantages to go into that, but I think there\u2019s certain personnel groupings, certain things that we do, sometimes it leans one way or the other, and that\u2019s just kind of how games go. But not a reflection of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

That, of course, is true. It\u2019s also coach-speak. The Giants took a 20-19 lead with 7:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, meaning the Packers absolutely, positively needed a response. That would seem to be the portion of the game that would \u201clean\u201d \u2013 to borrow Dunn\u2019s word \u2013 toward having a pass-catching tight end on the field. Especially given the state of the beat-up receiver depth chart.<\/p>\n

Instead, on Green Bay\u2019s seven-play touchdown drive, Whyle was on the field for six, FitzPatrick was on the field for five and Musgrave was on the field for zero.<\/p>\n

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\"Green<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cObviously, like we\u2019ve talked about before with Tuck being down, he\u2019s going to have more opportunities,\u201d quarterback Jordan Love said on Wednesday. \u201cI think it\u2019s something we\u2019ve got to keep building on. I think he\u2019s been a guy who\u2019s made a lot of plays and now it\u2019s just got to keep translating to the games and things like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s done some good things and I think we\u2019ve just got to keep building. I think for him, it\u2019s having that confidence when he goes out there with everything he does that he can go make plays. Everybody\u2019s confident in Luke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the coaches? And Love himself?<\/p>\n

Love threw two passes to Musgrave on Sunday. One was fumbled out of bounds and the second was ruled a fumble on the field but turned into an incompletion after a booth review. It\u2019d be almost impossible to have a worse day.<\/p>\n

\u201cA dropped pass or things like that, you\u2019ve just got to play that next play,\u201d Love said. \u201cI think building guys up and always giving guys confidence is always the way to go, no matter who it is.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s something we\u2019ll just keep building with him but, no matter who it is \u2013 if it\u2019s me having turnovers, I\u2019ve got to have those guys around me that trust me to keep going out there and making plays and know that the ball\u2019s going to keep coming to you. You\u2019ve just got to keep finding ways to improve and get better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kraft suffered his torn ACL against Carolina. In games the past two weeks against Philadelphia and New York, Musgrave caught 4-of-5 passes for 22 yards. Of 51 tight ends with at least three targets during that span, Musgrave ranks 46th in yards per route, according to PFF.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s obviously a small sample size. A week earlier against Carolina in the immediate aftermath of Kraft\u2019s injury, Musgrave caught 3-of-3 passes for 34 yards on a got-to-have-it drive in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

They needed Musgrave in that game. They\u2019ll probably need him again. There will be opportunities. The next two home games are against Minnesota and Chicago, teams that have allowed the 12th-most and seventh-most receptions to opposing tight ends, respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe absolutely needs to play more than whatever snaps he played in the second half,\u201d coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday, noting that has been \u201caddressed\u201d with his assistant coaches. \u201cWe\u2019ll make sure that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musgrave is at his best down the field and not in the short game that Kraft dominated. Both of Sunday\u2019s botched opportunities came on passes thrown about 1 yard downfield.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s got to make those plays, to be sure, but the Packers also have to do a better job of taking advantage of his skill-set.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s just work every single day,\u201d Dunn said. \u201cI think that\u2019s football, first of all, and I say this every week, and we talked about it with Tuck even, but it\u2019s not always the things that are evident to everyone, right? Ball production is the most production everyone sees.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s areas he\u2019s grown a lot in. I think there\u2019s areas we all have to do better in. So, just continuing to practice, continuing to get the trust, continuing to make plays. Making plays grows confidence in everyone. It\u2019s just continual work every single day, which he puts in every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2013 This was supposed to be Luke Musgrave\u2019s time. With Tucker Kraft out for the season with a knee injury, it was time for Musgrave to reassert hi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-bay-packers"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING : Packers Circle the Wagons Around Early Draft Pick - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=38055\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING : Packers Circle the Wagons Around Early Draft Pick - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2013 This was supposed to be Luke Musgrave\u2019s time. 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