NFL Draft, Day 2: Packers pick 2 TE and 1 WR

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - The Packers started Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft by selecting Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave. The 42nd overall pick has plenty of upside at the position.

Musgrave certainly has height, standing at 6′6″. The 253-lb. tight end is the nephew of former Oregon and NFL quarterback Bill Musgrave. He caught 11 passes in 2 games last year before his season was cut short by a knee injury. Musgrave is healthy now and ran 4.61 in the forty-yard dash at NFL Combine, the fourth-fastest time among tight ends.

“I did the Senior Bowl against the vision of doctors, it might have been a little soon but I was ready to get into football and I wanted to play football,” Musgrave said of performing in Mobile, Alabama, coming off his injury. “I love football. So it was important to me to just play in the game, and obviously to perform well. I’ve always been a Packers fan, they’ve always kind of been one of my favorite teams.”

Next up, the Packers traded the 45th pick in the draft to NFC North rival Detroit, moving down three spots to #48 while also picking up #159 overall (a 5th round pick).

But GM Brian Gutekunst wasn’t done wheeling and dealing. He traded the newly-acquired 48th pick to Tampa Bay, moving back two more spots to #50 overall, while picking up #179 overall (a 6th round pick).

The Packers spent that 50th overall pick on Michigan State wide receiver Jayden Reed. The 5′11″ pass catcher could fit in well as a slot receiver and has punt return skills as well. Gutekunst is hoping this pick can fill the void left by 2021 3rd round bust Amari Rodgers.

“I really just like attacking guys in man coverage; when guys are in man coverage, they are on their heels and I attack them and close space and that’s how I create separation,” Reed said. “It’s just much easier running guys down and stepping on their heels with a guy with speed that is kind of unmatched. I’m just blessed to be able to do both, I’m comfortable whether inside or outside.”

In the 3rd round, Green Bay had one pick and selected South Dakota State tight end Tucker Craft at #78 overall. He doesn’t shy away from contact.

“My favorite thing about the tight end position is just to be able to be unforgiving, to be able to catch a ball, rack up yards after catch, being able to down block a man who is trying to hinge to the hip of a tackle,” Craft said. “I like being able to put your hands in the dirt and ferociously punishing the man across from you. I’m not afraid to take on a a six technique, a seven technique, 9 technique. I’m going to do what’s asked of me, do what the Packers organization is asking me to do.”

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