The Green Bay Packers will open the 2026 season with much attention on what’s missing from their offense.
Josh Jacobs is on the commissioner exempt list, while Tucker Kraft has not played a regular-season snap since tearing his ACL last November.
Kraft, however, could quickly give Green Bay a reason to look much more dangerous than those concerns suggest.
“The Athletic Football Show” spotlighted the fourth-year tight end during its Sept. 3 NFC North preview, with Derrik Klassen and Robert Mays discussing what Kraft changes for Green Bay after the catch.
Derrik and @robertmays discuss the advantage Tucker Kraft gives to the Green Bay Packers offense.
“Once he gets the ball, he’s just like a moving freight train,” Kraft was described during the segment, which “The Athletic Football Show” promoted with the simple message of “Don’t sleep on the Packers.”
For an offense trying to get Jordan Love back into the NFC’s top tier, Kraft’s return could be one of the biggest variables in the entire division.
Kraft Definitely Uplifts Green Bay on Offense
Kraft’s production before the injury already offered a preview of what the Packers could have in 2026.
He caught 32 passes for 489 yards and six touchdowns in eight games last season, averaging 15.3 yards per reception. Packers.com noted in January that simply doubling those totals over a full season would have put Kraft at 64 receptions, 978 yards and 12 touchdowns.
All three figures would have broken Green Bay’s single-season franchise records for a tight end.
That surge followed a 2024 season in which Kraft caught 50 passes for 707 yards and seven touchdowns while appearing in all 17 games. The jump in efficiency was significant, too. He went from 14.1 yards per catch in 2024 to 15.3 in 2025 even as his role became more prominent.
The numbers help explain the “freight train” description.
Kraft doesn’t need to live on contested catches or red-zone targets to hurt a defense. He can turn a short completion into a chunk play, which gifts Love with an outlet capable of changing field position without forcing the quarterback to hold the ball for a deeper route.
That needs to spell success early in the season, as ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported Sept. 2 that Jacobs is unavailable while on the commissioner exempt list. Green Bay has options in the backfield, but none carry Jacobs’ established workload.
And of course, Kraft can help compensate the lack of Jacobs.
Packers Need Kraft to Pick Up Where He Left Off
The residual question is how quickly Kraft looks like himself.
ESPN reported he could be on a snap limit because he hasn’t played since the Nov. 2 ACL tear. Kraft had been targeting Week 1 throughout his rehabilitation and said in June that his goal was to begin the season with no pitch count.
He has also made clear that his unresolved contract situation won’t keep him off the field. Demovsky reported that Green Bay and Kraft have tried to complete an extension before Week 1, with the tight end saying he plans to play regardless of whether a new deal is finished.
That puts the focus back on football.
The Packers have heard thoughts during the offseason about whether their offense can become more consistent and whether Love can take another step.
Kraft is the key, a player who was already trending toward elite tight end production before his injury.
If the burst and physicality return with him, Green Bay may have one of its obvious answers in the building.
Packers’ 1,500-Yard Veteran Gets ‘Freight Train’ Verdict Ahead of Season Opener