Tucker Kraft's return will allow the Packers to play the way every team wants to play

The multiple tight end craze hit the NFL hard this offseason, but leaning into for Green Bay will be easy. It's already who the Packers wanted to be.

When Tucker Kraft went down last season, the Green Bay Packers didn’t just lose a potential All-Pro; they lost a philosophical pillar. Kraft allowed the Packers to play the way every seemingly every team in the NFL wants to play: big. Matt LaFleur could put Kraft and another tight end on the field, dictate terms to opposing defenses, and still create explosive plays because of Kraft’s virtuosic skill.

At its most basic, there is always that it’s better to have an awesome player than not to have him. More than that though, Kraft’s injury dulled a key arrow in LaFleur’s otherwise deadly offensive quiver.

The desire to play 12 and 13 personnel has become the new hotness in the NFL, regardless of whether a team wants to throw it a lot or a little, because it allows the offense to dictate terms. If an offense can put two tight ends on the field (12) and credibly run the ball (ideally better than from 11 personnel) the theory goes that defenses have to adjust with base defenses.

In a perfect world, that makes it easier to throw over the top, leaving linebackers to run with tight ends. With a tight end like Kraft, that’s a mismatch in favor of the offense.

This is why being able to defend the run from nickel is the advantage in modern defense right now

Without Kraft, though, the offense doesn’t generate the same type of advantage.

With their star tight end, the Packers played with a second tight end on 39.91% of snaps, which would have been second in the league on the season. After Kraft got injured, that number plummeted to 29.28%.

And as you’d expect, their efficiency fell off a cliff as well. With Kraft, the Packers generated .111 EPA/play with two tight ends and .03 without him. To put that into perspective, the Packers had a .10 EPA/play on all plays in 2026, and finished fourth in the NFL. The Baltimore Ravens had a .03 EPA/play and landed 13th.

With Kraft, the Packers used two tight ends like one of the best offenses in football. Without him, they were closer to average.