Three solutions for Matt LaFleur to revamp the offense after Tucker Kraft tears his ACL

The Green Bay Packers will be without their best offensive playmaker for the rest of the season after Tucker Kraft tore his ACL. Once again, the head coach will have to make it work.

Matt LaFleur is no stranger to reinvention. He convinced Aaron Rodgers to play in a novel way with a new scheme, blending LaFleur’s philosophy with Rodgers’, then adapting it over time. In 2020, the Green Bay Packers leaned into more under-center play-action than Rodgers had played in years, leading to the best play in years. As the two-high safety craze took over the NFL in 2021, LaFleur shifted to more quick passing and RPOs. When Rodgers left, LaFleur took the governor off the Shanahan-tree principles, running a very familiar version of the offense for Jordan Love.

But in the second half of 2023, LaFleur had to adapt yet again. The running game faltered. Love found a rhythm, and the team leaned on the arm of Love from the shotgun, almost like he was Rodgers.

Multiple injuries to Love once again forced changes to the offense in 2024. LaFleur pulled designs from single-wing football for Malik Willis; he was able to reincorporate once Love was healthy. They found new play-action schemes and gadget plays to get players like Jayden Reed more involved, but the offense fell flat in big games, played too conservatively, and never had the same juice we’d once seen.

This year, the Packers have the No. 1 passing game in the NFL by EPA/dropback. They’re third in success rate overall, even with a clunky performance against the Carolina Panthers. But now they’re going to be without their top playmaker with Tucker Kraft out for the year with a torn ACL.

He was their top after-catch creator by a factor of four. Kraft was on a historic pace for a Packers tight end and showed against the Pittsburgh Steelers that he could single-handedly take over a game. Without him, the Packers can’t afford to revert to the 2024 model of running the air out of the ball. They’re not explosive enough for that, though their success rate has ticked up this season.

No doubt, LaFleur will have to make up for the loss of Kraft in multiple ways over the course of the season and playoffs, depending on matchups. Here are three potential ways to make it work.

Get in the gun and sling the rock

I was calling for this even before Kraft went down. Sunday provided another great example: LaFleur called 25 early down passes to 24 early down runs. That sort of balance only works if the run game is not only successful but explosive. Run-heavy teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions create chunk plays with the run game. The Packers don’t.