{"id":82253,"date":"2025-08-23T15:26:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T15:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=82253"},"modified":"2025-08-23T15:26:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T15:26:24","slug":"draft-kraft-heres-why-packers-tucker-kraft-could-have-cheesy-great-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=82253","title":{"rendered":"Draft Kraft? Here\u2019s Why Packers\u2019 Tucker Kraft Could Have Cheesy Great Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2013 What\u2019s better than mac and cheese? How about YAC & Cheese.<\/p>\n

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft struck a deal with iconic Kraft Mac & Cheese. If Kraft is on your fantasy football team, you could win $25,000 in prizes, including 85 autographed boxes of macaroni and cheese. Or \u201cYAC & Cheese,\u201d as it says on the special-edition boxes.<\/p>\n

Kraft should be a major threat in fantasy football. He was last year, too, as he ranked among the positional leaders in yards and touchdowns even while not being a focal point of the offense.<\/p>\n

Following a breakout second season, Kraft is poised to be a more significant part of the attack this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m just ready to take that next step in my game,\u201d Kraft said on Thursday, two days before the Packers host the Seahawks in the final preseason game. \u201cFrom this offseason, I\u2019ve seen the coaches have trusted me to do some things that (don\u2019t) necessarily fit the tight end mold.<\/p>\n

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\u2014 Kraft Mac & Cheese (@kraftmacncheese) August 22, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re allowing me to attack the duality of my game \u2013 stretching the seam, extending plays from the flat \u2013 while also still trying to be a pest in the run game (by) helping the tackles, leading out on outside zone, playing some fullback. I like where I am in this offense. I feel like oftentimes I\u2019m at the point of attack for a lot of our stuff, and I like the way that I\u2019m relied on to keep us in front of the chains.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kraft\u2019s rise has been remarkable. He was a third-round pick out of South Dakota State in 2023 and toiled behind the team\u2019s other hot-shot rookie at the position, Luke Musgrave, for most of his rookie season. When Musgrave suffered a kidney injury in Week 11, Kraft took advantage and hasn\u2019t looked back. In short order, he\u2019s gone from a small-school standout to a rising NFL star.<\/p>\n

Is this what he envisioned all along?<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe not way back then,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there\u2019s one point last offseason after I tore my pec where I decided right then I was going to do everything I could to be the best tight end in the NFL. One step at a time, one day at a time, one play at a time. Just every opportunity, trying to maximize it and learning from my mistakes and just growing. So now we\u2019re here, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/canvas>\"Draft<\/picture><\/figure>\n

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) spikes the ball after catching a touchdown pass against the Detroit Lions. \/ Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

How is Kraft trying to maximize those opportunities? It\u2019s the same mindset as last year, when he set the run-after-catch standard.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo catch-tackle situations,\u201d he said. \u201cI catch the ball, I\u2019m trying to immediately get vertical. I\u2019m trying to use my off-hand as a weapon. I\u2019m trying to press edges like a running back. Cutting it back, trucking someone over, and then finishing for an extra 4 yards. In the run game, frontside, outside zone, leading the charge. Picking the play-side shoulder up, handing him to the tackle, and then climbing to the second level and getting a linebacker. It\u2019s just all about what you can do and the more you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kraft came back from last year\u2019s injury with a vengeance. While he ranked only 18th among tight ends with 50 receptions, he was seventh with 707 yards and tied for fourth with seven touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Last year, 39 tight ends caught at least 25 passes. Kraft was second with 14.1 yards per reception \u2013 just behind mentor George Kittle\u2019s 14.2 \u2013 and, according to Pro Football Focus, he was tied for first with 15 forced missed tackles and was first by a mile with 9.3 yards after the catch per catch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s just scratching the surface of what he\u2019s going to become,\u201d coach Matt LaFleur said. \u201cI think he\u2019s really grown as a complete football player but, specifically, in the passing game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTuck\u2019s, he\u2019s a playmaker. Anytime we can get the ball in his hands, I think good things happen,\u201d offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said.<\/p>\n

For fantasy-football purposes, Kraft was seventh in scoring last year even while being 18th in targets. While fantasy football isn\u2019t real football, the numbers say Kraft is an emerging weapon. And that\u2019s why the Packers intend to run more of the offense through him this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just goes to show \u2013 first guy at practice every day,\u201d Kraft said. \u201cOne of the first guys in the building every day, one of the last guys to leave. The coaches see the work you put in and it comes to light.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2013 What\u2019s better than mac and cheese? How about YAC & Cheese. Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft struck a deal with iconic Kraft Mac & Chee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":82258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nDraft Kraft? Here\u2019s Why Packers\u2019 Tucker Kraft Could Have Cheesy Great Year - NEWS USA<\/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:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=82253\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Draft Kraft? 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