Last week seemed like the perfect bounce-back effort from the Green Bay Packers. After a humiliating loss to the Cleveland Browns and going to a tie against the Dallas Cowboys, the Super Bowl aspirations for the organization were starting to look like a pipedream. However, they were able to take care of business against the Cincinnati Bengals to get back in the win column last week.
Unfortunately, the first half against the Arizona Cardinals exposed the same problems that had haunted them all season long. The offense could not get going, struggling to truly get into second gear, while the defense, which should have been a hallmark after the addition of Micah Parsons, struggled to stop the Cardinals from putting points on the board. One player, in particular, who was struggling mightily was tight end Tucker Kraft.
What Happened to Tucker Kraft?
One of the most reliable tight end options in the entire NFL, Kraft has been a consistently available player for Jordan Love to target. A former third-round pick, he has developed an innate synergy with his quarterback.
This season, too, he was off to an incredible start, registering 288 receiving yards through five games, while adding three touchdowns to his tally as well. However, against Arizona, he had just one catch for six yards, as he got off to an extremely slow start.
For the player ranked first on PFSN’s TE Impact, that was an unacceptable start to the game, and so was having just one target towards him in the first half. But, for those paying close attention, this dip in production had been steadily getting worse.
In Week 2, he recorded six receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns on seven targets. However, in the next three games, he was targeted a total of 11 times, with 10 catches, 128 yards, and a touchdown to his name.
Against a Cardinals defense that can be taken advantage of, fans may have been hoping for the third-year starter to find his groove once again. But, as the team trailed 13-6, the performance from Kraft wasn’t what the fan base may have been expecting.
In the third quarter, though, the Packers truly came alive. Nearly reaching the goal line at the end of the period, they were able to tack on seven more just five seconds into the fourth to bring the game to a tie at 20 apiece.
In that timeframe, Kraft played a major role in bringing the passing game alive. Targeted five more times, he caught two passes for an additional 29 receiving yards and a touchdown as well.