We’re back at it to break down the Green Bay Packers’ tight ends going into the summer. If you missed it, we’ve already hit the quarterback and receiver positions. Tight end is an interesting position, as general manager Brian Gutekunst admitted that the team was hoping to land a true Y tight end in the draft, but the Day 2 run at the position left them pivoting to other players. Since the draft, the team has attempted to sign two tight ends whose physicals failed.
Expect them to continue to churn
the bottom of this position group through the cutdown deadline.
Tucker Kraft
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has said that TE1 Tucker Kraft is “right on schedule” with his ACL recovery. For reference, it took receiver Christian Watson 294 days to go from tearing his ACL to playing in another football game. For Kraft, 294 days from his torn ACL would be August 23rd, right after the second preseason game. Remember, Watson practiced for a few weeks before playing in that game, too, so assume we’re going to see Kraft in practice at some point in training camp.
When he’s healthy, Kraft is one of the best all-around tight ends in football, producing both as a pass-catcher and making an impact as a run blocker. Without a doubt, he’ll be TE1 on the team when he returns to the field.
Luke Musgrave
The 2023 second-round pick’s career hasn’t gone as planned. Luke Musgrave was eventually passed on the depth chart full-time by Kraft in 2024 after Musgrave made a majority of the team’s starts as a rookie. Over the last two years, he’s caught just 31 balls, fewer than he posted in 2023 (34).
The Packers actually tried to shop Musgrave around the trade deadline, per sources, but when Kraft went down and Ben Sims (now with the Dolphins) was claimed by the Minnesota Vikings (Green Bay was trying to get Sims back on the practice squad), it left the team short at numbers at the position.
Throughout his career, Musgrave has been used as a true Y tight end, despite not being great in the blocking game. Truthfully, he’s better off being split outside to allow more receivers to play in the slot — as he can create separation on in-breaking routes — but Green Bay has just never leaned into that aspect of his game.
Going into the year, Musgrave will likely be the Y2 on the team and make starts if Kraft ever misses time.
Josh Whyle
The Packers picked up Josh Whyle after the cutdown deadline in 2025, bringing him onto the practice squad before promoting him to the 53-man roster. By the end of the year, with Tucker Kraft out, Green Bay actually chose to play Whyle in obvious passing situations over Luke Musgrave, which is important to note moving forward.
Whyle is more of a move tight end, a guy who can line up in the backfield or in the slot more frequently than a Musgrave. At this point, Whyle seems like a roster lock for 2026, considering the other competition at the position. For what it’s worth, the Packers have had their eyes on Whyle for a long time, as he was one of the team’s pre-draft visitors in 2023. He was ultimately selected in the fifth round by the Tennessee Titans that year.
Messiah Swinson
Hey, it’s a blast from the past. Messiah Swinson is now on his third stint with the Green Bay Packers, the team that originally signed him as a college free agent in 2024. At 6’7” and 259 pounds, Swinson has looked like a decent blocker and special teams player in preseasons, but he’s never made the 53-man unit.
Swinson is now going into Year 3 of his NFL career, which has included stints with the Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals. He was even once poached from the Packers’ practice squad (as a rookie) to the Panthers’ 53-man roster. Despite all of his stops and his ability to hang in the league, Swinson has never played regular-season action in the NFL.
The Arizona State product was signed by the Packers’ practice squad in January, after he was released from the Cardinals in December, and signed a reserve/future contract with the team after the season ended. There’s a decent chance that the 26-year-old will be Green Bay’s practice squad tight end in 2026.
Drake Dabney
Drake Dabney is another former Titan whom the Packers picked up in 2025. Dabney was signed as an undrafted rookie by Tennessee after a tryout and was kept on the team’s practice squad for two weeks in September. When injuries started to pile up in Green Bay, the Packers signed Dabney to their practice squad in November.
Dabney was actually activated to the gameday roster twice last year, in Weeks 17 and 18. He only played seven snaps against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17 before participating in the Packers’ JV game against the Vikings, where he made a start, played 45 offensive snaps and recorded one reception for three yards.
He should be competing for a practice squad opportunity going into 2026, but we’ll get more of a look at him this summer than we did in all of 2025.
R.J. Maryland
The final tight end on our list is undrafted rookie R.J. Maryland, son of former Green Bay Packer Russell Maryland. The younger Maryland looked like he was on the path to being a borderline top-100 selection during the 2024 season, before a torn ACL ended his campaign in October. When he returned to the field in 2025, with a giant knee brace, Maryland didn’t look the same athletically as he did before.
The hope is that Maryland returns to athletic form, considering how well he tested during the pre-draft process, but there was a notable difference between his 2024 and 2025 selves. At under 6’4” and 236 pounds, he’s an undersized pass-catcher dice roll, but there weren’t many options left at the position once the runs started on Day 2 of the draft.
Green Bay also tried to sign Wake Forest tight end Eni Falayi in undrafted free agency, whose 2025 film I was actually impressed by, but he failed his physical upon reporting to rookie minicamp. The Packers also claimed former Iowa tight end Luke Lachey in May, but failed his physical upon reporting, too.
