The Green Bay Packers suffered a pair of crushing blows on Sunday. Not only were they upset at home by the Carolina Panthers, but they also lost tight end Tucker Kraft to what they fear is a torn ACL.
Kraft was an integral part of the Packers offense and had logged 32 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns on the season before going down with the injury, so this is a brutal loss for Green Bay.
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The Packers may now have to turn to Luke Musgrave — who was selected one round ahead of Kraft in the 2023 NFL Draft — as their primary tight end moving forward … unless they have a trade up their sleeves.
With the NFL trade deadline looming on Tuesday, a very obvious target has emerged for Green Bay in the wake of Kraft’s injury: Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku.
Njoku is in the final year of his contract and seems to be a rather clear trade candidate for the Browns, who selected Harold Fannin Jr. in the draft last April and have already been employing him as their No. 1 tight end.
While Njoku may not be as gifted as Kraft, he is a Pro Bowler who hauled in 82 receptions for 881 yards and six scores in 2023. Last year, he caught 64 passes for 505 yards and five scores, and in seven games this season, he has snared 27 balls for 260 yards while reaching the end zone twice.
The 29-year-old should not be incredibly costly for the Packers and could probably be had for a Day 3 pick, so if the Browns are willing (and I don’t see why they wouldn’t be), Njoku would comprise a terrific addition.
Kraft served as a security blanket for Jordan Love, boasting a catch rate of 73.5 percent over his first three NFL seasons. Njoku isn’t quite there (65.1 percent), but he remains solid and would at least provide Green Bay with a more proven option than Musgrave, who flashed during his rookie campaign and hasn’t done a whole lot since.
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The Packers will be getting wide receiver Jayden Reed back later in the year, and Christian Watson recently returned. But not having Kraft will result in a rather significant hole in the aerial attack. Njoku won’t plug it entirely, because he isn’t as good, but there is no question that the University of Miami product would help.
We’ll see if Green Bay tries to swing a move for Njoku before the deadline comes to a close.
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