As far as made-up holidays go, National Tight End Day isn’t too bad. At the position, there were some standout performances in Week 8, but none matched Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft’s seven receptions for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
Want to know something even more impressive than Kraft’s raw stat line? 131 of those 143 yards in the win over the Pittsburgh Steelers came after the catch, per Next Gen Stats. According to the league’s data service, this is the third most in any game by a tight
end since 2016, when they began tracking this information. Kraft’s 131 yards after the catch are the most since a George Kittle performance back in the 2018 season.
None of his catches were better than his catch-and-run for nearly 25 yards that put the Packers up two scores on the Steelers for the first time in the game. After the play, he said calmly into the camera, “I do this.” He sure does.
Reset the tight end market for him. Do whatever you need to for him to be a Packer for life. Kraft will be eligible for an extension for the first time in his NFL career, starting with the 2026 new league year. Get it done, Brian Gutekunst and Russ Ball.
He’s certainly living up to his “YAC and cheese” branding. What more could you ask for?
