Packers TE Tucker Kraft Cracks ESPN’s Top 10 Despite Missing Half a Season to a Torn ACL
Tucker Kraft didn’t play a snap after Week 9 last season. NFL evaluators still think he’s one of the ten best tight ends alive.
ESPN’s annual survey of league executives, coaches and scouts landed the Green Bay Packers tight end at No. 6 among all tight ends heading into 2026, according to ESPN’s rankings published by Jeremy Fowler. That’s up from an honorable mention a year ago — earned almost entirely on eight games of tape before a knee injury ended his season in early November.
What happened to Kraft
Kraft tore the ACL in his right knee during Green Bay’s Week 9 loss to Carolina on Nov. 2, 2025. He was carted off after getting caught up in a block gone wrong, and the diagnosis was confirmed the next day. It closed the book on a season that, up to that point, had him on pace to blow past his career numbers.
Through eight games, Kraft had 32 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns — already tying his career high in touchdown grabs, with half a season left to play. ESPN’s report notes he was pacing for well over 1,000 yards and double-digit scores before the injury hit.
Two performances stood out. A 124-yard night on Thursday Night Football in Week 2 announced him as a legitimate weapon. Six weeks later, against Pittsburgh, he became the first tight end in Packers history to post 140-plus receiving yards with multiple touchdowns in the same game.
Why evaluators still buy in
An NFL executive told ESPN that Kraft’s blend of speed and ability after the catch sets him apart, adding that his blocking is already high level and that the injury cut him off before he’d fully shown what he could do. Voters put him as high as No. 3 on individual ballots, per ESPN’s breakdown of the rankings.
That’s the kind of praise usually reserved for tight ends who finish full seasons. Kraft got it from eight games and a highlight reel.
Kraft’s steady climb from Year 1 to Year 3 is exactly what teams look for at the position — and it’s part of why the injury didn’t sink his standing.
The bigger picture on his career
Kraft’s rise didn’t come out of nowhere. He improved in each of his first three seasons, culminating in a 2024 campaign where he posted career-best numbers before last year’s breakout: 50 catches, 707 yards and seven touchdowns across 17 games. Across his first 42 NFL games, he’s now totaled 113 receptions for 1,551 yards and 15 touchdowns.
| Season | Games | Receptions | Yards | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 17 | 50 | 707 | 7 |
| 2025 (partial) | 8 | 32 | 489 | 6 |
| Career (42 games) | 42 | 113 | 1,551 | 15 |
What’s next
The Packers have been conservative with injury timelines in recent years, and Kraft’s return will likely follow that pattern into training camp. Green Bay’s larger priority, as it always is with a significant knee injury, is getting him back to full strength rather than rushing him onto the field. If he can pick up where he left off, he slots back in as one of Jordan Love’s top targets in an offense that missed him badly down the stretch last season.
For now, the ranking itself says plenty. Evaluators aren’t grading Kraft on potential alone — they watched eight games of him outplaying almost every tight end in the league, injury or not.